Emotion, Yet Peace
by Person002
Summary: Padawan Learner Veers is no stranger to loss. After losing her mother and entire planet to Separatist forces, Veers trained under the instruction of Jedi Knight Rizak Lunian until his murder at the hands of Count Dooku. Reassigned to Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to complete her training, Veers grapples with her grief and anger and comes to realize that her war is only just beginning.
1. Prologue

**Hello there! I've had this idea for a Clone Wars OC for quite a while, and I finally decided to write it. Hope it's semi-okay.**

** I'd love some feedback!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Clone Wars.**

**Also - as far as I know, I've come up with the idea of the planet/alien race. If I'm wrong, please let me know. If not, please don't steal them.**

* * *

"Anakin!" The young man turned at the sound of his name. His former master and friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, was walking up to him, looking slightly harried.

"Obi-Wan," Anakin said, a bit surprised. He smirked slightly, arching an eyebrow. "I seem to recall overhearing a summons for all the Jedi Masters on the council almost ten minutes ago." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at the younger man's cheek.

"Yes, well, you aren't wrong," Obi-Wan said with a sigh. He looked around. "I was wondering if you would mind escorting Veers to the council chambers. She's in the medical bay." Obi-Wan was supposed to take her, but now that he was running late this seemed like a good solution. Anakin raised his eyebrows.

"Master Lunian's Padawan?"

"Yes." The two men locked eyes, and Anakin winced, suddenly understanding what the council meeting was about. He recalled the young girl stepping off the Republic Gunship, still shell-shocked from witnessing the death of her teacher, the Jedi Knight Rizak Lunian.

"Of course," Anakin said quietly. Obi-Wan murmured a thank-you before continuing hastily down the corridor towards the chambers. Anakin turned around, heading the opposite direction from where he'd originally been going to meet Padmé. She would understand his delay.

Anakin entered the med-bay, his eyes falling on the Motien girl sitting across the room. Her head was bowed, and she sat quietly as a medical droid continued mending a gash on the palm of her hand. Her sleeve was stained with magenta blood that matched her _ira _marks and eyes. The droid spotted Anakin, motioning for him to wait.

After a few short minutes, the droid stepped back, lowering the suturing tool it had been using and picking up a bandage. It wrapped the Veers's hand tightly and then stepped back to attend to another patient.

Anakin stepped forwards.

"Veers," the Jedi Knight greeted the Padawan. Her head shot up, and she got to her feet immediately, sliding off the bed.

"Master Skywalker," she replied, bowing her head in a show of respect.

"How are you?" he asked. He'd only spoken to the girl a handful of times before this moment, but he still felt concerned for her wellbeing – besides the general concern and respect every Jedi had for another in the order, he had known Rizak well and the girl was the same age as his own Padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano.

"I'm better now, thank you," Veers replied, recalling that he had been present when she'd gotten off the gunship, looking practically half-dead.

"I'm glad to hear it. I am sorry to hear of Master Lunian's death," Anakin said quietly. Veers lowered her head, nodding solemnly. "He was a good man."

"He was," Veers murmured. Anakin smiled softly, placing a hand on Veers's shoulder in a comforting manner. He turned to face the door, beckoning her to walk with him.

"Come," he told her, leading her out of the medical bay. She did so without protest or question, and Anakin continued, "You're being summoned by the council."

As Anakin escorted her down the corridor towards the council chambers, he couldn't help but to assess the elfin girl beside him. She looked somewhat better than she had when she'd disembarked from the ship – she'd cleaned up and had had her wounds tended too.

Still, the circles under her eyes suggested she hadn't slept at all, and her face was pale from shock, except for her magenta _ira _markings, which were pulsating brightly.

"You're stressed," he said as they walked towards the council chambers. "Relax."

"I can't," Veers responded. The Jedi Knight felt a stab of sympathy go through him. Facing the council was never easy, and especially given what the young Padawan had just gone through, he didn't blame her for being upset.

Besides, it was a well-known fact that Motiens were a hyper-emotional species, a trait that the alien race took pride in. But still, their emotions were the reason that, despite the fact that they were also highly-force sensitive, Motiens hardly ever became Jedi. In fact, Veers was only the third Motien Jedi since the order began, and she had only started training due extenuating circumstances.

Anakin stopped before the doors of the council, and Veers paused beside him. She took a deep breath, her shoulders hunching forward with her shaky exhale. Anakin placed a hand on her shoulder, and she turned towards him. Like all Motiens, her emotions were displayed physically by the throbbing brightness of her _ira _marks.

"You'll be fine," he reassured her. Veers' lips twitched slightly into a tiny smile. She bowed her head again.

"Thank you, Master," she said respectfully. He dipped his head politely back, stepping away as the doors to the council slid open. Veers turned, squaring her shoulders as she stepped into the room.

Swallowing hard, Veers walked towards the center of the council room. She was painfully aware that all eyes were on her. She stood on the floor in the middle of the circle, facing Masters Yoda and Windu, who were seated next to one another, as was custom given their rank.

"My Masters," Veers greeted the Jedi Council, bowing. She'd grown up a princess until age seven, but almost as many years had passed since she'd become a Jedi Padawan, and the gesture no longer felt foreign and awkward. Besides, her royal status was practically nil, now, given the current situation on her home planet.

"Young Veers," Master Windu said. "Have you recovered?"

"I am better, thank you, Master," Veers responded, not quite answering the question. Physically, she felt pretty good, considering. But she was mentally exhausted, and still shell-shocked and mourning the death of the man who was practically her father.

She knew that this was written all over her face – literally, as her _ira _marks reflected her emotions with the intensity of their glow. When she was perfectly at peace, the marks covering her body were a pale magenta, just discernable from the rest of her skin, with a nearly unnoticeable sheen. Now, they were a dark purply-red, glowing brightly in pulses timed with her heartbeat.

Veers couldn't see the marks on her face, of course, but she knew how she looked. She swallowed hard.

"Master Fisto has recounted what he saw," Master Windu told Veers. "If you could tell us what happened from your point of view?" Veers nodded.

"It was supposed to be a rescue mission," she said. "Most of Master Lunian's clone squadron had been captured by the Separatist forces. He called for backup, but they weren't getting there in time, and Master Lunian refused to wait or to leave them."

_Veers and Rizak were crouched in the corner of a Separatist Carrier, avoiding the droids marching past. The Jedi Knight peeked around the corner, scanning the corridor to see if more were coming. Seeing nothing, he beckoned Veers forward after him. _

_The two Jedi ran through the corridor silently. It was the two of them against the entirety of the Separatist forces aboard the carrier until they freed their squadron. Reinforcements were on the way, but the Separatist forces weren't waiting, and neither was Rizak. _

_Rizak had been in a Separatist Carrier before, and all of the ships were laid out largely the same way. He was pretty sure he knew where his squadron was being held. He set out quickly, turning the corner at the next fork in the corridors. His Padawan followed closely behind, her pupil-less magenta eyes scanning the hallways cautiously._

_The two Jedi rounded the corner, and Rizak halted suddenly, sweeping his hand out to pause his Padawan. Standing at the other end of the hallway was Count Dooku, the dangerous Sith Lord. _

_Across from them, Count Dooku unsheathed his red weapon, the hum of the lightsaber echoing around the corridor. Rizak followed suit, and Veers reached for her weapons._

_The Motien unsheathed her lightsabers – she had learned to fight with two. The blue glow of her lightsabers contrasted to her teacher's single green-colored weapon. Rizak moved to the side slightly so that he was not blocking his Padawan – full range of movement was necessary in a lightsaber duel. _

_It was Dooku who made the first move. The Sith Lord charged at the two Jedi, brandishing his weapon above his head. Veers leapt to the side, somersaulting over the head of the Sith and swinging one of her weapons down. _

_Dooku whirled around, blocking Veers's blow with his own weapon. Veers grit her teeth, striking out with her other weapon, which Dooku blocked just as easily. The Padawan scowled, wondering why Rizak wasn't retaliating on the other side. _

_As she jumped away, holding her lightsabers carefully aloft, she realized why. Asajj Ventress, Dooku's assassin, had appeared as well, and she was busy engaging Rizak in their own lightsaber duel._

_Dooku's lightsaber whistled through the air, and Veers raised her weapon instinctively, blocking the blow to her face. She knew that Rizak was much better matched for Dooku than she, and she imagined that Ventress wasn't as skilled as Dooku. _

_"Care to trade?" Veers grunted to her master, pressing Dooku's weapon back. Rizak didn't answer verbally, but he flipped backwards in a Force-jump, landing behind Dooku. As the Sith spun around to block the Jedi Knight's blow, Veers instinctively ducked the swinging blades of Ventress's sabers. _

_The Jedi Padawan straightened up again and swung her own blades out. Ventress also fought with two lightsabers, which was interesting. Though it wasn't uncommon, Veers had never dueled against anyone else who did so. _

_As Ventress and Veers fought, their duel forced them to travel away from Dooku and Rizak. It didn't take long for Veers to realize that she was still terribly unmatched in this duel. Though she had less finesse with her weapon skills, Ventress was physically stronger._

_ Veers opened her fingers slightly, careful to keep from dropping her weapon. She thrust her hand, using the Force to shove Ventress back. The assassin managed to land on her feet, thrusting her lightsabers into the ground to stop her slide backwards. The blades cut through the metal ground like it was butter._

_ Growling, Ventress stood up, stalking back towards Veers. The Padawan was breathing hard. She and Rizak had been on a mission for the past several days, and she hadn't had much time to sleep. She was exhausted. _

_ When Ventress's lightsaber flashed out, Veers miscalculated her block by just a fraction. That fraction was enough, and the tip of Ventress's blade sliced through the hilt of Veers's weapon and onto the palm of her hand._

_Veers dropped the destroyed lightsaber to the ground instinctively, crying out in pain. Ventress flicked her wrist, and Veers's back slammed against the wall, causing her to lose her grip on her other weapon, which rolled away. Veers grunted, looking at her injured hand. The grey sleeve of her shirt, which she wore over her palms and the back of her hand, was soaked through with magenta blood. _

_Grimacing, she stretched her uninjured hand out, trying to summon her remaining lightsaber towards her. The weapon twitched, responding to her tug. Ventress stalked towards the fallen girl, smirking. _

_The lightsaber flew into Veers's hand, and Ventress swung her weapons down. Veers winced instinctively. _

_There was a hiss, and Veers opened her eyes, realizing that she'd felt no pain. Ventress's blow had been blocked by a green lightsaber – not Rizak's, but Jedi Master Kit Fisto. Their reinforcements had arrived!_

_"Master Fisto!" Veers cried out in sheer relief. The Jedi Master nodded at Veers. _

_"I will handle this," he assured the Motien. "Go find Master Lunian – we must leave quickly." Master Fisto didn't wait for Veers's reply, but instead swung his lightsaber again, pressing Ventress back. _

_Veers sheathed her remaining weapon, racing out the door and down the hallway. She followed the signs of struggle to a large room in the center of the ship. When she reached the door, she saw Rizak and Dooku engaged in a duel towards the opposite edge of the room. _

_"Master!" she cried out instinctively as Dooku managed to gain the upper hand, knocking Rizak backwards. The human Jedi got to his feet, but even from across the room Veers could tell he was tired. She unsheathed her remaining lightsaber, racing across the room to get to them. _

_As she watched, Dooku held his hand out to the side. He then swung it forward, hitting Rizak in the chest with a bolt of force lightning. The Jedi Knight cried out in pain, falling to his knees as his lightsaber fell out of his hand. Dooku's lightsaber swished through the air. _

_"No!" Veers screamed, her _ira _marks rushing with color as Dooku's red saber sliced through Rizak's chest. She picked up speed, closing the space between her and as Dooku pulled his weapon out. _

_Crying out in rage, Veers swung her remaining weapon out and down, gripping the hilt with both hands and bringing it down towards Dooku. The Sith Lord raised his own weapon, blocking Veers's hit. She pressed down harder. Her _ira _marks throbbed with color, fueling her strength and she began to force Dooku's saber down. _

_Dooku growled, irritated that this child was suddenly now a match for him. Motiens were largely non-violent, so although it was known that Motiens' emotions fueled their physicality, he had never seen it before. _

_Across the long room, the doors rushed open, revealing Lunian's freed squadron of clone troopers led by Fisto. Lunian's reinforcements had arrived. Scowling, Dooku took one hand off his lightsaber hilt and flicked his wrist. The Motien Padawan went flying backwards from Dooku's channeling of the Force. _

_She flipped in midair, landing in a crouch. Before she could pursue Dooku, the Sith Lord was retreating, heading for an escape pod. She ran after him, her lightsaber held behind her. Dooku stepped into the escape pod, closing the door after him. Just as the protective glass slid shut, sealing him off from the rest of the ship, Veers caught up. The alien girl slashed her weapon across the glass uselessly, scowling at Dooku. _

_Smirking at his victory, the Sith hit the eject button. The pod fell from the carrier and into deep space. Veers hit the glass, frustrated. _

_Whipping around, the Padawan ran back to where Rizak had fallen. The Jedi was laying prone on the ground, his weapon by his side. His eyes were closed, but she could see the rise and fall of his chest as he continued to breath. _

_Veers fell to her knees by her teacher, her eyes filling with tears. She pressed her hand against his face. "Master," she said quietly. He didn't respond, and she swallowed hard. "Rizak**," **she begged, using his real name. "Please." _

_The Jedi Knight looked up at his Padawan. Breathing was difficult, and he felt terribly weak. He knew that he was dying. _

_"Veers," he gasped out. He wrapped his hand over hers, smiling gently. "Do not be upset." The Motien shook her head mournfully. Rizak brushed his hand against one of her _ira _marks. "You will do great things," he promised her quietly, his breath catching as he fought to speak. "I – I…" he swallowed hard, his eyes falling shut against his best efforts. Veers closed her eyes. Her hand was still pressed against Rizak's face, and suddenly his face disappeared. _

_She opened her eyes, surprised. Rizak's body was gone, leaving behind only his robes and lightsaber. __Tears trickled down Veers's face, the translucent fluid a pale magenta like her _ira _marks. As she cried quietly over her master's robes, Kit Fisto caught up. _

_"Veers," he said quietly, his eyes falling on Rizak's robes. He knew what had happened. "Come," he told the Padawan, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We must go."_

"That's what happened," Veers said quietly, having finished recounting her story. Her _ira _marks pulsed uncomfortably, and she shifted her weight. Her stress was clear to the entire Jedi Council.

"Stood before the council before, you have," Master Yoda said, speaking the minds of the other Jedi in the room. "Why so anxious now, young one?"

Instinctively, Veers's hand twitched towards the cuff on her left wrist, a thick silver band inlaid with roughly cut crystals – incidentally, the same crystals used in lightsabers. It was the mark of royalty on Motia, and the only thing she had that reminded her of her past life.

"I was a child last time," Veers replied. "I barely understood what was happening."

_Veers stared over the ledge of her balcony in horror, her _ira _marks gleaming brightly with her terror. Even from the palace where the princess stood, she could hear the exploding of bombs and gunfire, and, even worse, the terrified screams of her people. The Separatist forces had grown tired of negotiating._

_ "My lady!" The panicked voice behind her belonged to Tinba, the head of security for her and her mother, Queen Atla of Motia. The elder Motien swept onto the balcony, scooping of Veers in her arms. "What are you thinking?" Tinba scolded the seven-year-old, pulling the doors to the balcony shut tightly. Tinba's sunflower-yellow _ira _marks were bright against her dark skin. _

_"What is happening?" Veers said plaintively. She had been blissfully unaware of the majority of the strained politics that had been happening for the past several moons. Motia was a relatively small planet, but rich in resources. Though Motia was a peaceful monarchy, Queen Atla was sympathetic to the Republic. Having caught wind of this, the Separatist forces had been planning an invasion._

_The Republic had sent Jedi Knight Rizak Lunian to help with negotiations in an attempt to protect Motia's independence and sympathetic neutrality. Still, after many fortnights of negotiating, the Separatist forces had grown tired of discussion and moved instead to action._

_"Come with me now," Tinba said, taking Veers's hand and pulling her out of her chambers. The princess followed, glancing back over her shoulder at the battle outside. _

_Tinba hustled Veers down the hallway to the queen's chambers. The two guards standing outside the doors stepped aside for Tinba immediately, and the two Motiens entered the room._

_Queen Atla whirled around, sighing in relief when her eyes fell on her daughter. Her _ira _marks, which were sapphire blue, were pulsing violently in reflection of her horror, but the intensity slowed somewhat as she approached Veers. _

_"Tinba," Atla ordered the guard, sweeping her daughter into her arms. Veers pressed into her mother's embrace, terrified of the army ravaging her home. "Please send for Jedi Knight Rizak Lunian to come to my chambers." _

_"Yes, my lady," Tinba replied. It didn't take long for the Jedi Knight to arrive. The human man entered the chambers, his eyes falling on the queen and her daughter huddled together in the middle of the room. His shoulders relaxed slightly upon seeing their safety. _

_"Thank goodness you two are okay," Rizak said with a sigh. Atla was already standing as he rushed over, pulling the woman into a tight embrace. Atla sighed, relaxing into the arms of the Jedi. _

_Rizak closed his eyes briefly, savoring this moment with the woman he loved. He knew now that their dreams of his leaving the order to live out the rest of his life peacefully by her side were now just that – dreams. This magnitude of a violent attack from the Separatist forces had not been seen since the failed Invasion of Naboo three years ago, and the Motien military was no match for the Separatist droid army. _

_Rizak knew he had to return to Coruscant. He only hoped that he could convince Atla and Veers to come with him._

_"You must take Veers," Atla said, breaking the Jedi from his train of thought. Rizak stared at the queen in shock. Atla nodded. "You must," she begged. "You have told me yourself you think she would be an accomplished Jedi. Take her to the Jedi Temple and train her. Please." _

_"Come with us," Rizak said hopelessly, already knowing what her answer would be. _

_"I will not abandon my people," Atla said sharply. Rizak didn't try to argue – he had known even entertaining the option was unthinkable to Atla. Her voice softened as she continued, "My family has ruled Motia without conflict for over a century." Her eyes fell on Veers, and Atla's _ira _marks pulsed gently as pride and sorrow rushed through her. "Veers will one day return and continue our family's legacy." Atla turned, locking eyes with Rizak. "Until that day, you must protect her." _

_Rizak knelt down, holding a hand out to the little girl. She didn't hesitate to take it – even in the short time that he'd been there, she'd grown to like and trust man, who reminded her of her few hazy memories of her father._

_The Jedi Knight picked Veers up, setting her on his hip. Atla leaned forward, pressing her lips to Veers's cheek. Then, in a wordless act of Motien love, Atla gripped Veers's hands so that their _ira _marks aligned. For a brief moment, their _ira _marks pulsed together and glowed the same golden-white light. Veers stared at her mother, bewildered at what was happening. Atla pulled back, her eyes filling with tears. _

_The Jedi Knight stepped forward, gently cradling the queen's face. She placed her hand over his, staring into his eyes. _

_"Promise me," she whispered again. Rizak responded without hesitation. _

_"You have my word." _

_Rizak Lunian was an excellent pilot. After commandeering one of the smaller Motien spacecrafts, he managed to avoid the blasts of the Separatist forces enough to enter hyperspace. From there, it didn't take the two of them long to arrive at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. _

_On the trip over, Rizak hadn't needed to explain what has happening to Veers. Motiens were also generally a highly-intelligent species, and their sensitivity combined with their intelligence made it easy for even children to pick up on subtleties. _

_Instead, Rizak had told Veers about the Temple. He had been careful to not mention that she might one day train as a Jedi, because truthfully, he had no idea if the council would allow it, and he didn't want her to get her hopes up. Instead, he told her about the library, which had one of the largest archives ever. Veers loved to read._

_Rizak had sent a transmission requesting an immediate meeting with the Jedi Council, and was immediately escorted to the chambers. He was still holding Veers's hand, and the little girl looked around with wide-eyed curiosity. _

_"Are we going to the library?" Veers asked Rizak quietly. He shook his head. _

_"Later," he promised her. Veers nodded, following Rizak into the council chambers. The Jedi Council was already assembled, and Rizak stepped into the center of the circle. _

_"Master Lunian," Master Windu greeted the Jedi Knight. His eyes fell on the small Motien girl that Rizak gently pushed in front of him. Her _ira _marks were mostly calm. "And who is this?" Motien royalty did not enter the international sphere until their tenth year, so Master Windu's question was not an ignorant one. _

_"My Masters," Rizak began. "During my time on Motia, I…became close to the royal family – Queen Atla and her daughter." He could sense the surprise and disapproval at the implication of his words, and he quickly moved on. "This is Princess Veers of Motia." Rizak took a breath. "When the Separatist forces invaded Motia, Queen Atla begged me to take her daughter here, to have her be trained as a Jedi." _

_Rizak knew his request was a bold one. In fact, in his memory it had only been made a handful of times, as most future Jedi were chosen and monitored from when they were in their infancy. _

_"Like many Motiens, Veers is force-sensitive – in fact, more-so than the majority of Motiens," Rizak continued. He chose his next words carefully. He didn't want to offend Veers, but he also knew that issue that the Jedi Council was likely most concerned about. "Motiens have become Jedi before," he reminded the council. "Their heightened emotions are not necessarily a betrayal to the Jedi Code._

_"She can study at the Temple with the rest of the younglings for a few years," Rizak continued. "When she is of age, I will train her." The Jedi Masters on the council exchanged looks with one another. _

_Rizak Lunien was a well-respected Jedi Knight, on the cusp of being anointed the title of Jedi Master. Though he had a mischievous streak, it was unlike him to truly rebel or disobey direct orders from the council. _

_ But now, his chin was tilted in a decisive way that indicated his stubborn stance on the situation. _

_He was not taking no for an answer. _

It had been seven years since then, and Veers still had not returned to Motia, which was still under Separatist control. She didn't even know if her mother was still alive. At this thought, her _ira _marks fluctuated slightly. Time had made the pain lessen, and Veers enjoyed her training as a Padawan, but there were times when Veers still missed her mother and her planet dearly.

Veers pressed her lips together, wondering if it would be impudent to ask what was truly weighing on her mind. Obi-Wan noticed this.

"Speak your mind, young one," he reassured her. Veers choose her next words very carefully. She knew very well that her becoming a Jedi Padawan had been highly circumstantial, as Motiens were generally deemed too emotional to honor the Jedi Code: "There is no emotion, there is peace."

Veers privately preferred and lived by the alternate version to the code: "Emotion, yet peace."

"My Masters," Veers said. "It has not been a secret to me that my training was a…controversial decision, and that Master Lunian had much to do with convincing the council to let me join the order and train to become a Jedi Knight." Veers looked up, silently hoping that one of the elder Jedi would cut her off. When no one did, she continued. "I was wondering if I will be allowed to stay, now that he is…dead."

Her voice wavered involuntarily on the last word and she cursed herself as she bowed her head to hide her expression, a mixture of sorrow and self-irritation. She caught sight of the tips of her _ira _markings on her fingers that her long sleeves didn't cover. At the suggestion of the Jedi Council, Veers had strategically chosen a uniform to cover the majority of the _ira _marks besides the ones on her face.

Truthfully, Veers knew that the council would have been pleased if she had made an attempt to cover the ones on her face as well, but in her own private way of rebelling, she didn't offer.

The _ira _marks on her fingers were pulsating brightly, and she had no doubt the ones on her face were doing the same. She pressed her lips together, chagrined at the blatancy of her feelings.

But she wasn't ashamed. No matter what the Jedi Order thought of emotion, she would never be ashamed of it.

"A Jedi Padawan, you are," Master Yoda said decisively, breaking the silence. "Leave the order, you will not." Veers visibly relaxed, the tightness in her shoulders loosening. The glow of her _ira _marks gentled in reflection of her new serenity.

"You will be assigned a new teacher," Master Windu told the Padawan. "Until that decision has been made, there is plenty of help needed around the Temple. Understood?" Veers raised her head, nodding eagerly.

"Yes, Master Windu. Thank you."

* * *

As the council meeting ended, Obi-Wan Kenobi rose to his feet. Most of the other Jedi on the council departed the room separately, but Obi-Wan walked over to Master Yoda and Master Windu, his hands clasped behind his back. Master Yoda chuckled, already anticipating what Obi-Wan was thinking.

"Master Yoda, Master Windu," Obi-Wan said as the three Jedi walked together, heading towards the chamber where Master Lunian's funeral was being held. "I would like to train young Veers." Master Windu frowned, turning towards the other human.

"Are you certain?" Master Windu asked the younger Jedi. Obi-Wan nodded. Master Windu frowned as he mulled this over.

Privately, the Jedi Master had always been somewhat against the training of Veers. She had so far exceeded his expectations, but he had been wary of Rizak Lunian's ability to train the daughter of the woman he'd loved and lost well.

Now, Veers had lost her planet, her mother, and her teacher. There was no telling how, or when, she would recover. Master Windu shook his head slightly. The three Jedi Masters stopped outside the chamber where Master Lunian's funeral was taking place. Anakin spotted the three and walked up to join them.

"Kenobi," Master Windu said, his voice slightly grave. "I believe it best if she takes time before returning to her training. I sense a difficult path to Knighthood for young Veers."

"As do I," Obi-Wan responded. Both Jedi Masters looked at him, surprised that he wouldn't mind a difficult time. Anakin stopped beside the three Masters. He had caught the end of their conversation, enough to understand what was happening.

"Masters," Anakin said, greeting his superiors respectively. "If I may interject?" Obi-Wan nodded, curious to see what Anakin was going to say. "I believe that Master Kenobi has proven himself exceptional at handling the training of Padawans with difficult paths to Knighthood." Anakin smiled at the slightly self-deprecating comment. "I believe that he could handle the training of Veers well."

Master Windu and Master Yoda exchanged a glance, and the small alien nodded decisively.

"Train her, you will," Master Yoda declared. Obi-Wan dipped his head in gratitude. The two elder Jedi Masters departed, entering the chamber where the service was taking place.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said to Anakin. His former Padawan smiled, clapping Obi-Wan on the shoulder.

"You always had a soft-spot for us problem kids," he teased with a gentle smile.

The two Jedi entered the funeral chamber. Veers was already standing in front of the pyre. Like all the Jedi, she'd donned her cloak and pulled the hood up. Obi-Wan and Anakin pulled their hoods up as well, taking their places in the crowd around the pyre. Since Rizak's body had disappeared at his death when he became one with the Force, his robes were set on the funeral pyre instead.

Veers stared at the pile of clothing on the pyre, and a tear trickled down her cheek.

Master Windu stepped up to the pyre, picking up Rizak's lightsaber. He walked over to Veers and offered her the weapon. Veers looked up, startled. When Master Windu nodded at her, she took the lightsaber from him. Clutching the weapon to her chest, Veers looked up at the pyre again.

She watched as the robes were sent aflame, her fingers wrapped around the lightsaber. She was holding the weapon with her injured hand, and the cut stung as she gripped the metal hilt.

Veers closed her eyes. She found it unbearable to watch all that was left of her teacher and father figure literally go up in flames. Despite the fact that she knew it was a traditional Jedi funeral, and a sign of utmost respect, she was still deeply saddened.

Motiens mourned differently than humans did – despite being largely led by their emotions, the alien species were quite emotionally stable as well. Still, Rizak's death had shaken her more than she cared to admit.

* * *

Obi-Wan chose to not tell Veers his offer right after the funeral. It seemed disrespectful, given that they were all still mourning the death of Master Lunian.

After a few days, he found her in the Temple. She was standing at one of the ceiling-to-floor windows, looking over Coruscant's skyline. Her _ira _marks were much paler than they had been at the council hearing. The gentle magenta glow cast a pale sheen over the glass. The color pulsed slowly, in time with her heartbeat.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Veers turned. She blinked in surprise. Like all Motiens, her eyelids slid shut from the corners of her eyes instead of the tops.

"Master Kenobi, hello," Veers said in surprise.

"Veers," Obi-Wan responded with a smile. He paused beside her, looking out over Coruscant as well. Veers turned as well, waiting for the Jedi Master to speak.

"I've spoken to the council," Obi-Wan told Veers. Her magenta eyes stretched wide, realizing why he was speaking to her. Excitement coursed through her, making her _ira _marks flicker. She had expected a long wait before being assigned a new master. "If you feel ready to return to your training so soon," Obi-Wan said diplomatically. "I would be more than happy to instruct you." Veers smiled widely, her slightly pointed white teeth gleaming in the lights of the temple.

"I am ready," she promised Obi-Wan sincerely. "I won't let you down." Veers touched the hilt of Rizak's lightsaber, and then the center crystal on the armband. She thought of her mother. She thought of Rizak.

_I won't let any of you down._

* * *

**yupppp. **

**okay quick "****glossary" for pronunciation! (just cuz i know i always get annoyed when i read something and pronounce it one way in my head only to realize it's supposed to be something completely different. disregard if you don't care).**

**Rizak Lunian = riz-ack loo-nye-on  
Motia = moh - tye - uh  
Motien = moh - tye - in  
ira = ear-rah  
Veers like the word she "veers" right**

**i would really love some feedback about my character and this story! i've never written a clone wars fanfiction before, so i would love to hear some thoughts. **

**please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

**thanks!**


	2. Virus!

**Lol, I was re-watching Captain Marvel and I _just _realized that I named my character Veers and had emotion be a large part of her character...I swear that was not intentional. Oops. **

**To Guest: Thank you! Here is the next chapter :)**

**To Austrian: Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, only Veers.**

* * *

**_Battle droids on Naboo! As the Separatist rebellion rages through the galaxy, even peaceful planets are threatened. Following the discovery of Separatist droids wandering the grassy wasteland, Naboo is once again on high alert. Fearing their home is facing another invasion, Senator Amidala and Representative Binks race to Naboo to assess the situation. Meanwhile, near the Gungan swamplands, an even graver threat is about to be discovered… _**

Obi-Wan walked through the silent archives in the Jedi Temple. He had been training Veers for only a month, but he had quickly learned that during her spare time she was almost always in the Temple's archives, studying some obscure topic or another.

He found her at a small desk at the side of the large room. She was crouched over a blueprint, running her finger down the print as she made a note. As he approached her, she straightened up, blinking owlishly.

"Master," she greeted the elder Jedi.

"Hello, Veers," Obi-Wan responded. He looked down at the holographic blueprint she'd been studying. "What is it this time?" he asked her. Veers began to shut down her work – she knew that Obi-Wan hadn't just come to make idle talk. He was summoning her for something - either training or a mission.

"Oh," she said, a little sheepishly. Some people found her odd desire to know random things irritating. But she couldn't help it. "Those were the blueprints for the Resolute." Obi-Wan chuckled.

"The Resolute," he repeated. "The Stardestroyer?" Veers nodded as the two began to walk out of the archives. Obi-Wan smiled again. He didn't question Veers's curiosity. He wasn't even sure if she knew it, given how young she'd been when she'd left her planet, but curiosity was an innate trait in most Motiens. "Well, I hope you managed to get some rest," he said. The pair had just returned to the Temple from another mission.

"A little," Veers replied as the duo exited the archives. "I'm not tired. Where are we going?"

"Senator Amidala and Representative Binks have requested our help on Naboo," the human Jedi informed his Padawan. Veers nodded slightly – she'd heard a little about what they were doing there – something about the droid army on Naboo. "They – "

"Did they say what happened?" Veers asked without thinking. Obi-Wan shot her a look, half-amused and half-exasperated, and she glanced down, her _ira _marks flaring with embarrassment. Veers had an amusing, if slightly vexing, habit of not letting Obi-Wan finish when he was speaking. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"They didn't know much," Obi-Wan continued. "All they managed to get was there something about a secret lab on Naboo. Padmé believes that Jar Jar knows the location of the lab, and she called us in for help." At first Veers was slightly surprised to hear Obi-Wan speak of the senator and representative so casually, since he was usually so proper, and then she recalled hearing that he'd met them when he was just a Padawan himself. She suspected her knew them intimately.

"Is it just us?" she asked him. Obi-Wan shook his head, leading his Padawan into the hangar. As the two Jedi entered the large room, Veers spotted two others across from them. Anakin Skywalker and his own Padawan Learner, Ahsoka Tano, were standing in front of a ship. "Oh," Veers said, pleased. She didn't know Ahsoka terribly well, but they had trained together before, and she enjoyed the Togrutan's company.

Obi-Wan and Veers joined the other two, and Anakin greeted his former Master and his new Padawan with an easy grin.

"Apologies for the delay," Obi-Wan said as the four boarded the gunship. The small aircraft took off, leaving Coruscant and heading for space to dock with a larger aircraft. "Veers here was extremely busy learning about the inner workings of the Resolute." Obi-Wan shot his Padawan a small smile to show that he was only teasing.

"Hey," Veers protested faux-indignantly. "Because of that, I can tell you that we're going to be docking at the port-most side of the Resolute's hangar. The gravitational pull of the surrounding planets makes the starboard side of the hangar inaccessible for a small ship like this one." Anakin raised an eyebrow dubiously. The pilot in him was analyzing that statement.

"Is that true?" he asked her. Veers smiled widely, her slightly pointed teeth giving her smile a permanently mischievous appearance.

"No. I made that last part up." Obi-Wan chuckled slightly as the Coruscant aircraft boarded the Resolute.

Naboo was in the Mid Rim, but it was close to the border of the Outer Rim that the quickest way there from Coruscant was to take the Resolute through hyperspace and then pilot a smaller vessel down to the planet's surface. Since both the Queen and the Senator of Naboo had requested that the Republic intervene, having a Stardestroyer in close proximity to a peaceful planet for a short period of time was not a problem as it normally might have been.

The four Jedi waited on the gunship as the Resolute came out of hyperspace. Just before the doors could close, a clone naval commander came running up to them. Obi-Wan put his hand out, motioning for the doors to be held.

"General Kenobi, General Skywalker," the commander said breathlessly. Veers looked up, curious and a little concerned. She exchanged a look with Ahsoka, who shrugged. Both of the Padawans listened to the conversation while simultaneously trying to look like they weren't.

"I've just received a message from General Typho," the clone told them. "Senator Amidala is missing." Obi-Wan's eyes went wide with shock, and Anakin stiffened beside him.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan told the clone. "We must hurry." Without another word, the two Jedi boarded the gunship, the doors sliding shut after them. Veers and Ahsoka exchanged a shocked look. As the gunship left the Stardestroyer, Veers looked to Obi-Wan, about to ask a question. To her surprise, Obi-Wan was looking directly at Anakin, his eyes narrowed in concern.

Veers followed Obi-Wan's gaze, and her eyes widened slightly when she saw the look on Anakin's face. The young Knight looked furious, his face contorted in a scowl and his shoulders tight. Veers blinked. She knew that Anakin had met the senator on the same mission as Obi-Wan, before Anakin even became a Padawan, so maybe that was why he was upset.

Still, something about his anger sent a chill down Veers's spine. She would _not _want to be on the receiving end of it, ever.

The gunship entered the atmosphere of Naboo, soaring towards the palace. The horizon was glowing as the sun set, casting a golden-orange light over the planet. The gunship swooped through the air, landing in the palace hangar. As the doors slid open and the four Jedi stepped out, a translator droid, a Gungan, and a Naboo man with an eyepatch that Veers assumed to be General Typho were there to receive them.

"General Kenobi," the man said, sounding relieved. "Anakin. We're so glad you – "

"Where's Senator Amidala?" Anakin demanded, not letting the other man finish his sentence. General Typho didn't seem offended by Anakin's interruption, but his face creased in concern at the question.

"She went to look for the lab," he explained. Anakin scowled, his eyes flashing with fury and disbelief.

"And you let her go?!" The translator droid waddled up to Anakin.

"Senator Padmé can be very hard to stop once she has made up her mind," the droid reminded the Jedi. Anakin sighed, his shoulders relaxing slightly.

"Good point," he murmured. "I know what you mean." General Typho gestured to the female Gungan behind him. The alien had pink skin, with the same long floppy ears and buggy eyes that all Gungans had. Based of her dress, she appeared to be a farmer of some kind.

"This is Peppi Bow," General Typho introduced her. "She was the last person to see them. Padmé sent her here to safety." The Gungan nodded, taking a few steps forward.

"Theysa looking for the sick-maker," she told the Jedi. Obi-Wan frowned at the statement, Peppi's word choice catching his attention.

"_They?" _he repeated. The Jedi had only been informed of Senator Amidala's disappearance. General Typhoo nodded, realizing that they'd left out an important bit of information.

"Representative Binks was with her," he clarified. Next to Veers, Anakin's astromech R2-D2 beeped plaintively. Anakin digested this information and then turned around, looking at Ahsoka.

"Go with the Gungan. See if you can find them." Anakin spoke rather brusquely, but Ahsoka nodded, unbothered by her instructor's tone. Given that it was Padmé who was missing, she wasn't surprised at Anakin's adverse reaction.

"You've got it, Master." The Togrutan walked towards Peppi, and Veers glanced at Obi-Wan, wondering if she should go with the other Padawan. Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should let her go off without him, and then nodded slowly.

"Stay in contact, and stay close to Ahsoka," he warned his Padawan. Veers nodded, a little impatient. Weren't both of those orders givens?

"Yes, Master," she simply responded, joining Ahsoka and Peppi. As soon as she was out of Obi-Wan's sight, she rolled her eyes. Ahsoka caught Veers's expression and gave her a quizzical look. Veers smiled sheepishly, a little embarrassed.

"Sorry," the Motien said as the two Jedi apprentices followed the native Gungan. "I just didn't think it would be this difficult to adjust to training under another Jedi," she admitted with a sigh.

"How so?" Ahsoka asked. She didn't look judging; she was merely curious. Veers shrugged.

"I like Obi-Wan a lot, don't get me wrong," Veers said. She realized too late that she'd called Obi-Wan by his first name, which was technically a sign of disrespect. Her _ira _marks flickered at her faux-pas, which would have scandalized some Padawans, but Ahsoka didn't bat an eyelash. Relieved, Veers continued. "I just…when I was training with Rizak, he never needed to tell me to stay in contact – at least, not since I was a youngling." Ahsoka hummed.

"I'm sure it will get better," the Togrutan female said reassuringly. She understood Veers's frustration - Ahsoka too disliked it when Anakin or Obi-Wan babied her. "He's probably adjusting, too – just give it time." Ahsoka paused, and then added in a conspiratorial tone. "Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if that order is an engrained habit from when he trained Anakin." Ahsoka grinned mischievously. "Master Obi-Wan _still _has to remind him of things like that."

Veers couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her throat.

* * *

Momentarily distracted from his anxiety over Padmé's disappearance, Anakin watched in a mixture of disbelief and amazement as Veers walked after Ahsoka. The Jedi Knight shook his head. "Wow," Anakin said, side-eyeing his former Master. Obi-Wan blinked, and Anakin continued mischievously, "You're getting soft in your old age."

"What?" the elder man said defensively. Anakin shrugged.

"Nothing…I just know you would never have sent _me_ off alone, another Padawan notwithstanding, this early in my training," Anakin replied. Obi-Wan sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. Anakin was feeding into his dilemma about how to train Veers.

"I agree," Obi-Wan admitted. His eyes were narrowed in concern as he watched his apprentice's disappearing figure. "But _she's _not a month into her training – _I _am a month into training her." Obi-Wan rubbed his chin. "I know Master Lunian trained Veers well. I can't treat her like a youngling." Anakin nodded slowly, seeing Obi-Wan's point of view.

"You're right," Anakin admitted. General Typho cleared his throat slightly, and Anakin immediately snapped back to the matter at hand. He nodded briskly, and Typho turned to leave. The two Jedi began to follow C-3PO and General Typho through the palace. R2-D2 rolled after them, beeping. Shaking his head, Anakin spoke again, this time to General Typho. "Why didn't you send someone to look for them?" he asked.

The Naboo man stiffened almost imperceptibly. Since Padmé and Jar Jar had left, they'd received more information about the Separatist's plans, and Peppi Bow had confided that at least one river in Naboo was already poisoned.

"Considering the latest developments," General Typho explained as they walked into a lab. "We thought it was best to wait for you." Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at this ominous-sounding statement.

"What latest developments?" he asked, slightly alarmed. General Typho walked over to a scanning table**, **where the decapitated head of a battle droid was lying. He turned the machine on as he began to explain.

"We did a robo-lobotomy on the battle droids and came up with this piece of memory." Typho hit play, and a holographic figure came up. Obi-Wan leaned in closer, frowning. He didn't recognize the person in the recording.

"Who is that?"

"Doctor Nuvo Vindi," Typho responded. "The senior medic for the Perma families. He disappeared ten years ago." As Typho fell silent, the audio of the recording began and Vindi began to speak.

_ "Good news, my soulless automaton friends," _Vindi said. He spoke in Galactic Basic, but with an accent. _"We now have enough of the blue shadow virus to start filling the bombs!" _He held up a canister bomb triumphantly, stroking the machinery in an almost loving manner. Obi-Wan exchanged a horrified look with Anakin, and General Typho nodded grimly.

"He said – bombs," C-3PO noted nervously. R2-D2 beeped in agreement. On the recording, Vindi continued.

"_We will only need to send one bomb to each key star system," _Vindi said. _"Work quickly!" _he ordered the droids as the recording began to flicker. "_I want – " _the image cut out completely, and Obi-Wan spoke up.

"If those bombs get delivered, we'll be facing a galaxy-wide plague," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "The war will be the least of our worries." General Typho nodded. He understood the gravity of the situation well.

"There is _some_ good news," he told the two Jedi. He pressed a few buttons to pull up another image. "Senator Amidala found the lab," he said as the blueprints for Vindi's headquarters came up. "She sent us the coordinates before she disappeared. We've managed to get a geo-scan of the area."

"It's enormous," Obi-Wan said in surprise, looking at the many pathways and chambers within the lab. The compound spanned several different levels - Obi-Wan was guessing that it was built deeply underground, but he still couldn't believe that it had gone unnoticed for this long.

"It looks like there are three entry points," Typho said. He indicated a few of the chambers, highlighting them in red on the blueprint. "Here, here, and here. This appears to be the main lab," he added, pointing to the middle chamber.

"And the bombs?" Obi-Wan asked. Typho nodded, rotating the floating image to indicate another part of the laboratory.

"There seems to be an above-average amount of radiation in this chamber," Typho responded, highlighting another of the chambers on the floating blueprint. "It's likely that they're being assembled." Obi-Wan stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"If Padmé has alerted them to our presence in _any _way," he began nervously. Anakin cut Obi-Wan off, knowing where the other Jedi's mind was going.

"If Padmé's in there, and we go in guns a'blazin, she may get killed!" Anakin couldn't keep the emotion out of his voice, and Obi-Wan shot his former Padawan a pointed look. Obi-Wan was quite used to Anakin's inability to keep professional when it came to Padmé, but given the precariousness of the situation, he needed Anakin's head as clear as possible.

"It is a risk we are going to have to take," he replied, not without regret. Padmé was his friend, and he didn't want her to die anymore than Anakin did. Unlike Anakin, however, Obi-Wan could see the bigger picture. He shook his head. "Doctor Vindi and those bombs must not leave the lab." Anakin crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't like these odds.

"And if they, or we, detonate one during our attack?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan pointedly. The elder Jedi shrugged grimly.

"Better to have one planet infected than the entire galaxy."

* * *

"Dis da ship belonging to them," Peppi announced, brandishing her staff with her free hand to indicate the vessel. Her other hand gripped the reigns of the shaak the three females were riding. Peppi was a shaak herder, and she had led the two Padawans to her stables for transportation. Though the Naboo animals were rather rotund and un-athletic looking, Veers was surprised to see that it could carry three of them at a fairly fast pace.

"So where are they?" Ahsoka asked from behind Peppi. The Gungan guided the shaak forward several more yards, and then pulled to a stop. All three dismounted to survey the area. Veers frowned. She knelt to the ground for a better look, touching the damp soil with her hand.

"Their tracks end here," she noted, looking back up. A whirring noise caught her attention, and Veers twisted to the side instinctively. Her eyes went wide as she noticed the camera-like lens rising from the ground. Veers immediately flipped backwards, landing lightly on her feet behind a large root, out of eyeline from the scope. Ahsoka slunk into a crouch, moving slowly behind the lens as it rotated to avoid detection.

"Peppi," Ahsoka hissed to the Gungan, who had been standing on top of the scope when it had risen from the ground. The Gungan was now balancing on the machine precariously. "It's a scope. Don't let them see you." Veers raised her hand slowly, channeling to the Force to keep Peppi balanced.

Ahsoka hesitated for a second, timing her movement carefully. She jumped forward, tackling Peppi as gently as possible. The pair landed on the ground next to Veers, who ducked behind the root again just as the scope swung towards them.

Peeking out cautiously, Veers watched as the scope descended back into the ground. The three had managed to remain undetected. Curious, Veers picked up a stone at her feet. She tossed it forward, as far away from the trio as she could, and then ducked quickly behind the root again.

About fifteen yards away, at the other side of the clearing, another scope popped up. Veers and Ahsoka exchanged a look.

"Well," Veers said with a sigh, turning to press her back against the root. "I think it's safe to say we've found the lab." Ahsoka nodded. The Togrutan reached for her communicator, pushing down on the button to radio their teachers.

"Master, are you there?" Anakin's response was immediate.

"_Did you find her?" _Veers couldn't help but blink in surprise at the urgency in Anakin's voice. He seemed…_personally _invested in this case.

"Negative," Ahsoka replied regretfully. "I'm pretty sure she's inside the lab." Veers leaned in closer to the communicator.

"The whole area is lined with pressure sensors," Veers reported. "There's no way to get in without detection, but we can probably –"

_"Do _not_ attempt to get inside," _Obi-Wan said, cutting his Padawan off. A hologram popped up from Ahsoka's handheld communicator – it was the blueprints of the lab. "_I need you to detonate a bunker bomb at the south end of the facility." _The chamber he indicated glowed red. "_It should cause a nice distraction and seal off the bomb area while we come in through the hatches." _Veers nodded.

"Got it," she said assuredly.

_"Rex and his men will be right behind you, Snips,"_ Anakin told Ahsoka. "They'll have your back." Ahsoka nodded, and the transmission ended. Veers gave Ahsoka a slightly amused look.

"Snips?" she asked, her lips twitching slightly. Ahsoka rolled her eyes, looking a mixture of amused and exasperated. She found the nickname both annoying and endearing at the same time.

"Let's get started," she said. Veers nodded. Though the two Padawans were of the same age, Ahsoka had begun her training slightly before Veers had, and the Motien always subtly deferred to Ahsoka. She wasn't sure if the Togrutan had noticed or if it was just her natural leadership taking charge, but she appreciated it, nonetheless.

Darkness was descending on the trio rapidly as the two Padawans worked. Though their choice of ammunition was limited, Veers was able to modify a bomb so that the explosion would be contained enough to not _completely _blow the lab. Not only were the senator's and representative's lives at stake, if even one vial got blown during the attack they were all screwed.

"That should do it," Veers muttered, crossing two wires before closing the panel to the device. She handed it to Ahsoka, who began levitating it with the Force. Veers glanced at Peppi. "Call your shaak," she told the Gungan.

Peppi whistled softly, and her animal lumbered over to the herder, out of harm's way. Ahsoka let go of the bomb, closing her eyes to focus. She guided it with her hand, weaving in between the scopes to avoid detection.

As the bomb reached the center of three scopes, Ahsoka opened her eyes. "Now!" she said, flicking her wrist downwards and diving for cover. Peppi and Veers followed suit, and debris and shrapnel rained down upon them as the bomb exploded.

Gunships whirred overhead, signaling the arrival of their backup. As Veers and Ahsoka stood up to leave, Peppi grabbed Ahsoka's arm.

"Meesa come too?" she asked hopefully. Ahsoka shook her head.

"No," she replied. "Stay here and make sure no one escapes." The Togrutan didn't really wait for an answer, but as she and Veers took off, they could hear Peppi's somewhat-reluctant agreement.

The two Padawans charged towards the hole. When they dropped through the breach they'd made, droids had already descended upon them. Clone troopers were sliding down from the gunships to back them up.

Veers stood up, unsheathing her two lightsabers. Instead of remaking her lightsaber that had been destroyed in her fight against Ventress, the Motien had instead decided to use Rizak's lightsaber to honor his memory. It had been a little strange feeling the uneven hilts in her hands at first, but Veers had quickly adjusted, and by now she barely noticed it.

Ahsoka and Veers moved forward in an unspoken agreement, leading the charge against the droids. The confined space made it somewhat difficult for full range of motion with their weapons, but the two Padawans had completed training exercises for nearly every situation imaginable, including this one.

Using one of the tactics they'd learned, Ahsoka stayed low, slicing through battle droids' legs and blasters. Veers propelled herself through the narrow corridor by jumping from wall to wall, dragging her lightsaber through half a dozen of droids in one jump. This way, the two Jedi weren't at risk of hitting one another with their lightsabers, and still left room for the troopers to use their blasters.

Two droidekas came rolling down the hallway and Veers groaned.

"I _hate t_hese things," she muttered, leaping backwards to avoid the blasts. "Fall back!" she warned Ahsoka and the others, slashing her lightsabers through the air to block the gunfire.

Ahsoka sheathed her lightsaber momentarily, ushering the troopers back towards cover before taking a stance in front of them. Veers backed up slowly, her _ira _marks flickering as she continued to deflect as much of the gunfire as she could. Ahsoka moved backwards in time with Veers, her own lightsaber flashing.

"I can't hold them!" she muttered. The droidekas were getting closer, and then gunfire was too thick for either Veers or Ahsoka to get behind them.

"Me neither," Ahsoka replied, her teeth gritted in concentration. A rumble above Veers's head made her frown. She slid her eyes upwards, her breath catching in surprise as she noticed cracks appearing above them. A second later, the ceiling crashed down, smashing the droidekas. Veers coughed, waving a hand in front of her face to try and dispel the dust. When she could see again, Obi-Wan was standing on top of the rubble, smiling.

"Need some help?" he asked teasingly. Veers smiled back, coughing again.

"It's good to see you, Master," she said with a sigh of relief, sheathing the green lightsaber that formerly belonged to Rizak. She left her original blue weapon out – maneuvering the narrow hallways with one was significantly lower-risk than with two.

"Second to that," Ahsoka grinned. Obi-Wan smiled slightly, stepping off of the rubble so that he was level with the younger Jedi. Behind him, several troopers began to descend from the upper level. They were wearing armor that marked them as bomb squad troopers.

"Things are going well," Obi-Wan informed the two Padawans, leading them through the corridors. "We've secured the lab and hopefully Anakin has reached Padmé by now." The three Jedi rounded the corner. As they turned, the trio ran smack-dab into a squadron of battle droids. Veers and Obi-Wan unsheathed their lightsabers, and Ahsoka raised hers.

"I'll get the bombs," Obi-Wan said, continuing down the hallway as Ahsoka began to fight. He called over his shoulder, "Veers, with me!"

"Coming, Master!" The Motien backed up, deflecting gunfire as she walked backwards before turning around and racing after the Jedi Master.

"I'll keep the droids occupied!" Ahsoka called reassuringly. Veers followed Obi-Wan through the corridors. The troopers from the bomb squad followed them, ready to deactivate all the weapons.

Obi-Wan had memorized the blueprints before arriving in the lab, so he knew exactly where to go. He turned the corner, entering a large chamber lined with bombs. The entire room was lined with the explosives, all of which had been filled with the virus. Fortunately, all of the bombs were dim, signaling that they were unarmed.

"Well, looks like the bomb room," one of the troopers said, placing his gun on the ground. Obi-Wan nodded, walking through the room as he looked at the explosives.

"Yes. And luckily, they seem to be inactive," he said. No sooner had the words left his mouth then did every single one of the bombs turn on and arm itself. Vindi must have remotely armed them from somewhere else in the lab. Obi-Wan sighed. "I spoke too soon. Get these deactivated now!" Obi-Wan pressed his comm. "Anakin, I'm guessing you didn't capture the doctor."

_"I'm working on it!" _The Jedi Knight replied, sounding slightly indignantly._"Do you have the bombs?"_

"I'm working on it," Obi-Wan echoed his former Padawan. "Dr. Vindi has remotely activated the bombs – they're counting down!" As Obi-Wan had been talking and the bomb squad had been working, Veers had been looking around for anything amiss.

"Master, I hate to say this," the Motien said, her eyes locked on an empty spot. She pointed. "One of them is missing." Obi-Wan followed his Padawan's gaze, groaning.

"Anakin, did you get that?" he asked.

"_Copy," _Anakin replied. "_It's gotta be down here somewhere." _Veers paced the length of the room anxiously. She felt useless – she didn't know how to disarm the bombs, so all she could do was watch. She glanced at Obi-Wan, hoping that he would say something. But her Master seemed solely concentrated on the bombs ticking down around him. Veers shifted uncomfortably. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Master, maybe I should –" she began. Obi-Wan cut her off.

"_No, _Veers," he responded. "You need to stay with me." His eyes were focused on the bombs in front of him, but he could sense his Padawan's potent nerves. "If Anakin needs us, he'll ask." Veers pressed her lips together – she could sense the implication of Obi-Wan's order: _you cannot go off by yourself. _

"Master, with all due respect," Veers said, trying her hardest to keep the irritation out of her voice. Obi-Wan's eyes flashed to his Padawan, surprised at her quiet, rebellious tone. She continued, "I don't think now is the time to treat me like a youngling."

"And I _know _now is most certainly not the time to be arguing with me," Obi-Wan responded, arching an eyebrow. Veers's eyes fell to the ground, slightly chagrined at the reprimand. "Have patience, young one." Veers had to bite her bottom lip to keep from arguing further, but she managed. Her _ira _marks flickered slightly with her irritation and embarrassment.

"Yes, Master," she muttered. She couldn't quite bring herself to apologize, but Obi-Wan said nothing of her disrespect. He glanced around, watching the clone troopers progress. Obi-Wan's comm. beeped, and Anakin's voice crackled over the radio.

_ "Obi-Wan! Dr. Vindi's escaping – he's at the landing platform!" _

"Alright, we're on our way," Obi-Wan responded. He beckoned his Padawan, turning and running out of the chamber. Veers followed him, relieved that he had allowed her to come along. She wouldn't have been terribly surprised if he'd had her remain behind as a sort of lesson and/or punishment.

Obi-Wan raced around a corner, and Veers had to quicken her pace in order to keep up with her Master – Obi-Wan's legs were much longer than hers.

It didn't take the two Jedi long to reach the hangar. Along the way, Obi-Wan had summoned a squad of troopers to assist the Jedi. Anakin was cutting through the door when they arrived, his lightsaber sunk into the metal up to the hilt. He had almost completed cutting an arch of molten metal.

"Almost…got it," he announced, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He brought the weapon down with a grunt, cutting through the last part of the door. Then he shoved his hand out, using the Force to thrust it aside.

As the Jedi and the clones ducked through the archway into the hangar, Vindi began to shoot at them. The doctor was standing on a rising platform with a ship on it, clearly meaning to escape as soon as he got above ground. The doctor was wearing a containment suit and holding a case that Veers suspected was full of the virus.

Obi-Wan ran forwards, summoning the Force as he jumped upwards. He landed on the edge, his arms wrapped around the lip of the platform. Anakin and Veers stayed on the ground, deflecting Vindi's gunfire. As one of the clones raised his gun to retaliate, Anakin grabbed the end of the blaster.

"Don't shoot!" he ordered. "If he drops one of those vials, we're finished." At that, Anakin ran forwards, leaping up the platform as well. Veers hesitated for a second, and then followed the Jedi Knight. No one had explicitly ordered her to stay behind.

Veers followed Anakin as he climbed up to the platform. As she climbed, she saw Obi-Wan falling backwards. He had one vial clutched securely in his hands, and he grabbed another from the air. Re-focusing, Veers made one final jump, landing on the top of the platform behind Vindi. Anakin was standing in front of the doctor, brandishing his lightsaber. Veers unsheathed her own weapons.

"You're under arrest, Dr. Vindi," Anakin said menacingly. Vindi scowled. He tucked his blaster into his belt. For a moment, Veers thought he was giving up. But instead of surrendering, the doctor picked up another vial. Quick as a flash, he threw it high into the air. It sailed in Anakin's direction, and the Jedi Knight had to dive to catch it, his lightsaber closing and rolling to the ground.

As Anakin's fingers closed around the vial, Veers stepped forward. She pointed her lightsaber at Vindi, scowling.

"Nice try," she said. Vindi simply laughed manically, picking up another vial. This time he tossed it towards the side, as far away from both of the Jedi as he could. He laughed again in glee.

Anakin watched in horror was Vindi threw the last vial of virus through the air. He was too far away, and Veers wasn't much closer. Still, as the Jedi Knight climbed to his feet, he yelled out a desperate warning to the other Jedi.

"_Veers!" _he shouted. The Padawan was already whipping around, closing her lightsabers and turning her back on Vindi in her haste. The doctor had anticipated her reaction, and he raised his blaster, cackling. The weapon was pointed directly at Veers's back. Anakin rushed forward futilely; using the Force to pull his lightsaber back into his hand. He knew he'd never get there in time.

As it turned out, he didn't need to. Out of nowhere, Peppi Bow came rushing up behind Vindi. She tackled the doctor, and both his blaster and case of virus went rolling harmlessly to the side. Peppi clambered to her feet, brandishing her staff. She whipped it down on the doctor's helmet viciously, and his suit began to spark.

For Veers, time seemed to slow down. She turned her back to Vindi, realizing her mistake a half-second after she moved. Leaving no time for herself to correct, the Padawan jumped forwards, diving to catch the vial falling fast towards the ground. As Veers twisted in midair, she heard Rizak's voice.

"Focus_, Veers. Channel your emotions into the Force, don't block them," _her former Master whispered in her ear. It was a mantra he'd been drilling into her head since he'd begun training her. It went against everything the Jedi Code suggested, but Rizak hadn't cared. He felt that he had failed her and her mother – he had watched the Separatists consume her planet, watched her people become endangered, watched Veers lose everything she had ever known.

When Rizak had begun to train her, he had stubbornly decided that he wasn't letting the Jedi Code interfere with what he knew to be an integral part of Motien culture and identity. He had set his mind to teach Veers to use her emotions instead of to fear them. Despite how effective he had found it to be, he knew that the council would disapprove, so he had kept it quiet and had warned Veers to do the same.

So, when Veers closed her eyes to let the full weight of all her fear, adrenaline, and anxiety crash down upon her, Anakin's heart dropped. Her _ira _marks throbbed violently, betraying exactly what she was feeling, and for a split second the Jedi Knight was sure they were all doomed.

But to Veers, everything had become crystal-clear. Even with her eyes closed and her back turned, she could see Vindi's silhouette perfectly clearly in the mind's eye. She could see Peppi whacking the doctor over the head with her staff, destroying his containment suit's helmet. And she could see the vial.

The Force rushed through Veers, and she reached out.

Veers arched her back, her fingers closing securely around the vial as she tucked forwards, completing her front flip and landing on her feet right before Vindi's prone form. Her green lightsaber was in her free hand, unsheathed and pointed at Vindi's exposed throat before she'd even opened her eyes. Vindi's expression flickered for only half a second. Though his plan in unleashing the virus manually hadn't succeeded, he still had the bombs.

"Yes!" Vindi shouted, laughing even though he was completely at their mercy. "The bombs are going off and we're all going to die!" He said with way too much glee. As he continued to cackle, Veers's eyes locked onto the timer on his wrist, which was ticking down rapidly.

_ Please let them deactivate the bomb, _she though desperately.

"Yes, yes!" Vindi continued to crow. "Die! Die!" He laughed again, and then the timer went dim, the countdown cutting short with a beep. Vindi's laughter cut off abruptly, and he stared at the timer in shock. "Oops…" he said, confused. "What happened?"

Veers sighed in relief, lowering her lightsaber and sheathing the weapon. She put it back on her belt, glancing down at the small vial in her hands. Anakin was standing next to Veers, his eyes still wide with surprise. He couldn't help but to study Veers curiously. The intensity of the glow of her _ira _marks was slowing down some, and her posture was relaxed. He gave Veers an impressed look.

"Not bad, kid."

"Thanks," she replied, trying not to smirk. She wasn't quite sure if she succeeded. Veers looked at Peppi. "Thank _you_," she said to the Gungan gratefully. She knew that she would have been dead had Peppi not intervened.

"Mesa was happy to do it," Peppi responded with a triumphant smile. The herder felt somewhat vindicated now that she'd helped apprehend Vindi – the death of several of her shaaks had been his doing, after all. Veers smiled, turning around as Obi-Wan and the clone troopers came running up to join the others.

"Ahsoka, are you there?" Anakin asked, turning away slightly as he radioed his apprentice. Her response was prompt.

"_I'm here, Master," _she replied. "_The bomb has been deactivated. Did you find Vindi?" _

"Deactivated as well," Anakin responded, glancing down at Vindi's prone body with a slight smirk. "Have you seen Padmé?" Veers raised her eyebrows slightly at the question. Veers had sensed Anakin's heightened sensitivity around and concern towards the senator throughout this ordeal, and she was starting to gather that Anakin and Padmé's relationship wasn't strictly professional.

"_She's right next to me," _Ahsoka replied. From the other Padawan's tone, Veers was guessing that Ahsoka knew as well. "_I'm okay, too," _the Togrutan added sarcastically. "_Thanks for asking." _Anakin smiled, his posture relaxing slightly.

"Good to hear it, Snips," he said, ending the transmission. Veers's lips twitched in amusement. _Now _the nickname made sense. As Obi-Wan and Anakin walked over to Vindi, Veers stepped back to give the two elder Jedi more space. She walked over to the side of the platform to wait.

Obi-Wan stood next to Anakin, looking down at Vindi. The doctor seemed stunned that his plan had failed.

"Your Padawan did well," Anakin told Obi-Wan. The other Jedi blinked. He turned to glance at the young Motien, who was now speaking to one of the troopers near the edge of the platform. Obi-Wan smiled.

"I'm not surprised," he replied. He regretted snapping at Veers a little – he didn't necessarily think that he'd been wrong to reprimand her, but he also realized that he should have respected her experience more. He glanced at Anakin. "I'll be back."

Obi-Wan walked over to Veers. As he approached her, the Motien looked up at her instructor. "Well done," Obi-Wan said to his Padawan. Veers smiled slightly.

"Thank you," she said. She paused, and then added, "And…I'm sorry for before. I shouldn't have questioned your orders." Obi-Wan waved a hand dismissively.

"Apology accepted. I shouldn't have _doubted _you," he responded. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, too." Veers smiled widely.

"Thank you, Master."

"Of course," Obi-Wan replied. He cast his Padawan a sideways look, wondering if she was tired. All Jedi were used to going long hours without sleeping, but unlike Ahsoka and Anakin, he and Veers were practically fresh off another mission. "Ahsoka and Padmé are cleaning up downstairs," he told his Padawan. Veers nodded.

"I'll join them," she replied. She could sense that Obi-Wan was giving her the choice without asking it as a question – he didn't want to patronize her. She turned, about to head for the stairway before pausing. She shot Obi-Wan a teasing smile. "And – I'll stay in contact."

* * *

Veers was patrolling the hallways with a couple clone troopers when an alarm began to blare loudly. Next to her, the two troopers stiffened and Veers tensed, her _ira _marks flaring. _What now? _She thought with a sigh. Her comm. beeped, and Veers pressed down on the button to answer the transmission.

"_Veers." _Senator Amidala's voice was urgent. "_A droid took a vial from one of the bombs. We need to re-check the bombs." _The Padawan glanced around at her surroundings, nodding to herself. She motioned to the clones to follow her.

"Copy that," she responded, picking up the pace to a run. "I'm on my way with two troopers."

"How could droids have gotten ahold of the virus containers?" One of troopers asked. Veers shook her head - she had been wondering the exact same thing.

"I don't know," the other clone responded. "But I _don't _want to be around when they set it off." A tingling feeling shot down Veers's spine. She whipped around, studying the hallway behind her intensely. She had been _sure _that she'd sensed something…

"Commander?" One of the troopers asked. They were used to Jedi's odd reactions to things they couldn't sense, but given the circumstances, they were slightly apprehensive. Veers frowned, looking around again. The hallways were empty.

"I could've sworn…" she muttered. She shook her head with a sigh. There was nothing there. "Never mind. Let's keep moving." The trio walked into the bomb chamber. After the bomb squad had deactivated the explosives, they had gone through and removed all the vials to transport them away.

"We've already taken the virus containers out of these bombs," the first trooper said. Veers nodded grimly. She'd been around for part of that task – it had been tedious, stressful, and long. None of them wanted to do it again. Even if only one of the bombs had a vial in them, they were going to have to check each and every one - and there were _hundreds._

"We're just going to have to check them all over again," she said with a sigh. As the clones walked ahead of her to the other end of the room, Veers paused again. Something didn't feel right…

Turning her lightsaber on with a _hiss, _Veers whirled around. The troopers heard her reaction and turned to see what was happening. A small droid was on the other side of the chamber. It had placed a vial in the last bomb on the row.

"Hey, you!" One of the troopers shouted. They both raised their guns and Veers rushed forwards, bringing her lightsaber down. As the weapon swished through the air, the droid reached out to press the button on the bomb.

The glowing blue weapon sliced the droid in half just as it activated the bomb. There was no countdown – it had immediately armed itself to detonate. Veers's eyes went wide.

"No!" she shouted. She instinctively whirled around, using the Force to throw the two troopers backwards. It wouldn't save them from the virus, but they would at least survive the explosion. She dove for cover, just as a wave of heat and smoke hit Veers. Debris rained down around her, and the Padawan fell to the ground with a grunt, her vision going fuzzy.

The world faded out for a few moments, and when Veers regained consciousness the room was filled with bright blue gas. She sat up, groaning in a mixture of pain and dismay. Across the room, the two troopers were getting to their feet as well.

"Thanks, Commander," one of them said gratefully. Veers sighed, rubbing her forehead as she got to her feet. She looked around, shaking her head.

"I don't know if you should be thanking me," she said with a heavy sigh. "Dying in the explosion would have been easier than to the virus."

"That's…cheerful," the trooper said. He might've been about to say more, but he was interrupted by a coughing fit. Veers winced. They were already showing symptoms, which wasn't exactly surprising. The three of them had gotten hit with a direct blast of the virus, and they were still breathing it in. Veers's comm. beeped, and she lifted her arm closer to her ear to hear the message better. It was Obi-Wan.

"_Veers, what's your status?" _Obi-Wan asked urgently, concern edging his voice. Anakin had made contact with Ahsoka, who had informed him of the virus leak. The Togrutan said she hadn't heard from Padmé, but she knew that Veers had been heading towards the chamber when the bomb had gone off.

"Well," Veers said, looking around. "I'm alive for now." She sighed. "I was in the bomb room when it detonated," she told her teacher. "I'm with two troopers – we're all definitely infected." There was a moment of silence on the other end as Obi-Wan digested this information.

"_We'll find a cure," _Obi-Wan told his Padawan as reassuringly as he could. Veers smiled.

"I don't doubt it, Master," she responded. She paused, and then added, "There is _one _good thing about it being airborne. The gestation period for the virus is much longer because it takes more time to infect the entire system than if it was ingested."

_"How long?" _This time it was Anakin's voice asking the question. Veers pursed her lips.

"We might live forty-eight hours?" she responded, an uncertain lilt to her voice. "I'm not sure at what point the virus will become incurable, though." She didn't wait for them to answer this, instead asking a question that had been weighing on _her _mind. "Are the others okay?"

_"Padmé and Jar Jar were in a safety chamber," _Obi-Wan told his Padawan. "_Ahsoka and a group of troopers were in the hallway, but they made it to another safe room." _Veers nodded, even though she knew Obi-Wan couldn't see her. He continued, _"There are still droids remaining in the facility." _

"Don't worry, Master," Veers said. She stifled a cough. "I'll find the others – we'll keep the virus contained." As she said this, she beckoned the troopers after her. The three of them began to walk through the hallways.

_"Good," _Obi-Wan said. Her cough hadn't gone unnoticed by him, and his voice was quiet as he spoke, "_May the Force be with you, Veers." _

"And with you, Master," Veers murmured. The transmission cut off, and Veers quickly opened another line. This time she contacted Ahsoka.

"_Veers," _the other Padawan said with a relieved sigh. She had been worried that the Padawan had died in the initial explosion. _"It's good to hear from you. We're in the safety chamber in complex B. The senator is on her way." _Veers nodded, picking up the pace.

"On our way," she responded. Her breath caught in her throat as she coughed violently, her chest aching. Shaking her head, Veers took a shallow breath and continued on. Complex B wasn't that far away, and it didn't take Veers and the troopers long to arrive. As the trio turned the corner, Veers caught sight of Senator Amidala and Representative Binks. To Veers's relief, both of them were wearing containment suits.

"Veers!" the senator said. She looked at the Padawan and the two troopers with her gravely. She knew all three of them had had potent exposure to the virus. "I'm so sorry," she said quietly. Veers smiled slightly, waving off the apology.

"Don't worry about us," she responded. She paused at the closed doors, knowing that Ahsoka and the other troopers were on the other side. "Are they infected?" Padmé nodded, and Veers swallowed, her _ira _marks flickering as guilt surged through her. She felt as though it was her fault the virus had gotten loose – maybe if she'd just trusted her instincts more, the droid wouldn't have been able to detonate the bomb.

Before Veers could dwell on this more, the comms. beeped and Ahsoka's voice broke through over the radio.

_"Senator Amidala, Veers – where are you?" _

"We're both right outside your safety room," the senator responded. Veers looked at the closed doors.

"_Can you get the doors open?" _Ahsoka asked. Padmé lowered the comm. and then nodded at Veers. The Padawan moved over to the control panel. She hit the button to override the lockdown, punching in a code, and the doors opened with a buzz. Veers coughed again, holding a hand to her mouth as she winced.

As the doors opened, the virus began to swirl into the room. Veers and Padmé walked in, followed closely by the troopers and Jar Jar. One of the clones who had been in the safety room with Ahsoka was coughing also, and Veers's _ira _marks flickered again.

"I'm sorry," Veers said as she reached the other Padawan. She sighed, looking around at the group. "I should have paid more attention." Ahsoka shook her head at the other girl's apology and smiled reassuringly.

"This isn't your fault," she said decisively. Veers pursed her lips, looking unconvinced, and Padmé spoke up.

"Ahsoka's right, Veers," the senator said. "This is no one's fault but Vindi's." Padmé placed a hand on Veers's shoulder. "None of _us_ noticed the droid getting the vial until it was too late," Padmé pointed out, indicating herself and Jar Jar to show that blame could be placed on any of them. "This is no one's fault." Veers nodded, but she didn't quite look convinced.

Padmé surveyed Veers in slight concern. She was already showing symptoms of infection. She been coughing earlier, and her _ira _marks were growing paler – not the way they did when her emotions were level, but the way that signified illness in Motiens. The veins in her face were turning blue. "Are you okay?" Veers straightened up at the question.

"Don't worry," she said again. "We still have a job to do." Ahsoka nodded in agreement.

"There aren't very many droids left," Padmé said. She glanced at Jar Jar. "We saw some heading toward the south entrance."

"As long as we're able, we'll help you destroy those droids," Ahsoka said, speaking for all of them. Captain Rex handed the senator a blaster, which she accepted with a grateful nod.

"You take the north corridor," she told Ahsoka and Veers. "And we'll take the south." The group split up, Representative Binks and Senator Amidala leading one squadron of troopers and Ahsoka and Veers leading the other.

The two Padawans reached the north entrance quickly. When they got there, a group of battle droids were fussing with some tools, trying to figure out how to cut through the wall. Ahsoka and Veers unsheathed their lightsabers, and the hissing noise caught the droids' attention.

"Ah! Jedi!" One of them yelled. The droids abandoned their tools for their blasters, beginning to fire at the group. Veers ducked a blaster shot, leaping off of a wall and slicing through a droid. As she and Ahsoka began to cut them down, the clones behind them began to fire at the group of adversaries as well.

"Retreat!" one of the droids shouted, beginning to run down the hallway. The squadron gave chase, following the droids through the corridors. Veers quickly realized that they were heading to rendezvous with the group at the south corridor.

As Veers and Ahsoka rounded the final corner, slicing through the last few droids, Veers caught sight of Senator Amidala and her squadron. They had destroyed all but one droid, which was clambering up the ladder to a hatch in the ceiling. Anxiety coursed through Veers, and all of them rushed over to gather at the bottom.

"Stop!" Rex ordered. Senator Amidala raised her blaster, pointing it at the droid.

"Don't open that hatch!" The droid looked down at the assembled group.

"Ha!" It crowed. "Too late!" The droid raised its blaster, firing at the door above it. Fortunately, the lab's walls were meant to be impenetrable, and the blast rebounded, bouncing around the walls of the narrow tunnel before it hit the droid. The robot yelped, falling to the ground in a heap of parts.

Veers sighed, sheathing her weapon and putting it on her belt. She leaned against the wall behind her, panting slightly. The virus took a toll on her endurance, and she had quickly become exhausted. She coughed again, covering her mouth and turning her head to the side as her breath rasped in her throat. When she tried to push herself off the wall she stumbled, and Rex caught her elbow to steady her.

"Veers!" Ahsoka exclaimed. The other Padawan pushed herself back to her feet.

"Thanks," she murmured to Rex. "I'm fine," she said breathlessly, not completely meaning it. "Let's keep moving." Some of the clones had been scanning for other droids and had located a few moving towards them.

Ahsoka led the way, Veers and the others following closely behind. Two droidekas were rolling down the hallway towards the squadron. They stopped and unrolled, putting their shields up and beginning to shoot at the group. Veers unsheathed both of her lightsabers to deflect the gunfire.

Ahsoka flipped forwards off the wall and landed on the top of the droid. Veers thought about doing the same thing with the other droid, but quickly decided in her current state she would only be a liability. Instead, she positioned herself in front of the senator and representative, absorbing the blaster fire with her weapons. The containment suits weren't exactly bulletproof.

On top of the droid, Ahsoka positioned her lightsaber downwards, aiming for a weak spot on the top of the droideka. Before she could open her weapon, Representative Binks raised his blaster.

"Thisa help!" he exclaimed, pointing it at the droid. Veers whirled around, her eyes going wide.

"Jar Jar, no!" Senator Amidala shouted. Jar Jar's blaster fire made Ahsoka stumble, and the blast ricocheted outwards. Veers ducked instinctively, and Jar Jar threw his hands over his head in instinctive panic. The senator tackled Jar Jar to the ground, and Veers's blood ran cold as she heard a hissing noise.

"Senator!" Veers shouted, rushing over to the two Naboo officials. She knelt next to the woman, her hands trembling slightly. One of the tubes in the woman's suit had ripped, exposing her to the virus. Behind Veers, the gunfire ceased as Ahsoka made quick work of the two droidekas, rushing over to join Veers.

"Senator, your suit's been compromised," one of the clones said quietly. Padmé's eyes fell on the hole and she gasped in surprise. Ahsoka fell to her knees beside Veers and the senator, her eyes wide.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. Padmé smiled reassuringly, removing her helmet. Now that she was exposed to the virus, keeping the suit on would simply limit her mobility.

"Don't blame yourself," she said, echoing Ahsoka's earlier sentiment towards Veers. "These things tend to happen on a warzone." The senator and Ahsoka got to her feet, but Veers stayed kneeling, her hands on her knees. The two clones that had been infected at the same time as she were also leaning against the wall, exhausted. Ahsoka looked at her friend in concern.

"Maybe you should rest," Ahsoka suggested to Veers. The Motien closed her eyes, summoning her strength. It took great effort to pull herself to her feet.

"Later," she said with a weak smile. "Let's find those droids, first." Still, as the squadron progressed through the hallway, Veers found it increasingly difficult to keep up. By the time they had reached the final hatch, she was breathing hard. Her _ira _marks and eyes were completely colorless – instead of magenta, they were a pale, milky white.

"There they are!" Ahsoka shouted. Two droids surrounded the ladder, and a third was cutting through the hatch at the top. Before Veers had even opened her lightsaber, Ahsoka slashed through the two battle droids on the ground. She pulled down with her hand, yanking the battle droid at the top of the ladder with the Force and slicing through that one as well.

As the remains of the droid clattered to the ground around her, Ahsoka groaned in pain, falling against the ladder.

"Ahsoka!" the senator said in alarm, rushing to the younger girl's side. The Padawan straightened with difficulty.

"I'm all right," she said. She limped over to the others, sheathing her lightsaber and putting it at the belt on her hip. Captain Rex was scanning the lab. He looked up as Ahsoka rejoined them.

"Those were the last of the clankers," he announced. Veers sighed in relief, slumping back against the wall as coughs racked her body. Her legs gave out beneath her and she sat down hard. She couldn't summon the energy to stand back up.

"We should…report," she muttered. Her eyelids slipped shut and she leaned her head back. Captain Rex knelt down by Veers, taking his helmet off to take a better look at her.

"Try to keep your eyes open, kid," Rex told the Padawan. It took effort, but Veers managed to open her eyes again. Everyone was showing symptoms of the virus, but Veers and the two troopers who had been in the bomb room were the sickest. As the Motien cracked her eyes open she realized that Ahsoka had opened a transmission.

"Master?" Ahsoka asked weakly. "Can you…hear me?" Anakin and Obi-Wan's holograms appeared on the transmitter sitting on the ground before Ahsoka. They were flickering - the group was so far underground that the signal was weak.

"_Artoo, amplify the signal!" _Anakin barked at the droid, which was out of frame.

"_Veers?" _Obi-Wan's voice was slightly panicked as his eyes fell on his Padawan slumped limply against the wall. Even at the urgency in her instructor's voice, Veers couldn't manage to pull herself to her feet.

"I'm good," she muttered in what she hoped as a reassuring manner. She wasn't quite sure if the message she was hoping to relay was successful, or even if Obi-Wan had heard her. Ahsoka managed to give a more cohesive report, but by now she needed support from Padmé to remain standing.

"Destroyed all the battle droids inside the compound, Master," Ahsoka said breathlessly. "Naboo is safe from further contamination. I repeat: Naboo is safe." She coughed, stumbling slightly, and Padmé tightened her grip on the Togrutan's shoulder. Anakin stared at his Padawan in horror.

"Promise me no one will ever open this bunker," Padmé said urgently. Even while facing death, her duty to her planet prevailed over all else. "Good-bye, Anakin," she said softly. "I…" she coughed, and the transmission ended. Her eyes widened. "No!" she said. She stepped forward to fiddle with the machine, but Veers spoke up weakly from behind her.

"Senator, you shouldn't," the Padawan said quietly. The Naboo woman turned to look at the younger girl in surprise. The Motien blinked slowly. "It won't help them…to…" she coughed, unable to finish her sentence, but Padmé nodded.

"You're right," she whispered, standing back up. Quietly to herself, she closed her eyes and finished the message: _Anakin, I love you. _Turning back around, she squared her shoulders and assumed command. She had been the last of the group to be infected, and though she was beginning to display symptoms she still had most of her strength.

"There's a safe room just down the hall," she said. "We'll be more comfortable there." Ahsoka nodded, standing up straight and beginning to limp towards the room. She hit the button to open the doors, leaning against the wall to rest as the others begin to follow.

A trooper helped Veers to her feet, and the Padawan managed to walk the short distance to the room by herself. As soon as she'd made it inside, however, she dropped to the ground once more, exhausted.

The stronger troopers helped their weaker comrades into the room. Captain Rex lowered one of the clones that had been in the chamber with Veers to the ground, next to the Padawan. The clone's breathing was hardly noticeable, and he barely acknowledged the change in scenery. Rex squatted down next to his brother, placing a hand on the trooper's shoulder as he drew his last breath. The captain lowered his head, closing his eyes briefly before leaning back with a heavy sigh.

Sick as she was, Veers sensed as the life left the trooper. Her eyes cracked open, and she looked to the side, her heart dropping when she saw the trooper's body. Her breath caught in her throat when she tried to speak, and she coughed out, "I'm sorry." Rex looked at the Padawan. Her eyes were closed again, but she still spoke like she knew he was looking at her. "They were with me," she mumbled, almost to herself. "When the bomb went off."

"Don't worry, kid," the captain said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's what these men were born to do." Veers didn't respond.

Rex sat up, reaching for a tarp to cover his fallen comrade's body. Senator Amidala looked over at Veers from where she was tending to another sick trooper. The young Jedi was slumped against the wall, her legs stretched outwards. Her eyes were closed and her _ira _marks were translucent, exposing magenta-tinged veins and bone underneath her cheeks. The faint rise and fall of her chest were the only signal that she was still alive.

"How much longer do you think she has?" Padmé asked quietly. Rex didn't answer verbally, but the twist of his mouth told Padmé all she needed to know. She closed her eyes, her heart aching. Despite what she'd said about no one being to blame, the senator couldn't help but also feel slightly responsible – she had been the one to send Veers to the bomb chamber.

"I just hope their sacrifice brings us closer to peace," the senator murmured, her eyes locked on Veers's still form.

"It will, Padmé," Ahsoka gasped, her short sentence wracked by coughs. Ahsoka staggered to her feet. "You have to believe…" Her legs gave out and she fell to the ground, her eyes slipping shut.

"Ahsoka!" Padmé cried. Rex grabbed the Padawan before she hit the ground. The trooper's eyes full of concern as he lowered the girl to the ground, checking her pulse. The senator closed her eyes, silently praying.

_Please hurry. _

* * *

Veers woke up slowly, the bright sunlight making her aching head throb. She couldn't tell if the head pain was from the virus or from whacking it against the ground during the explosion, but she knew for sure that the sun was making it worse.

_Wait…_sun?

If Veers had had more strength, she probably would have shot up in surprise. As it was, she only managed to make a surprised, concerned grunting sound in the back of her throat.

Before she could panic too much, Obi-Wan leaned over his Padawan. The girl blinked slowly, confused.

"Master?" she muttered in surprise. She noted with relief that he looked completely healthy, with no sign of infection from the virus. "What – what happened?" Obi-Wan smiled in relief when she spoke. By the time he and Anakin had gotten back to Naboo and administered the antidote, the two clones that Veers had been with were dead from the virus. Another hour, at most, and his Padawan would have been next.

"Anakin and I saved the day, as usual," Obi-Wan said in a teasing tone. Veers smirked slightly, her _ira _marks flaring with her amusement. The Jedi Master was glad to see that the girl's color was coming back – though her _ira _marks and eyes were nowhere near as dark as they should be, the magenta hue was breaking through the cloudy whiteness, pulsing slowly with her heartbeat. It was a sure sign that she was recovering.

"Glad to hear it," Veers murmured with a smile. "Thank you." Her eyes closed for a moment before she spoke again. "Are the others okay?" Obi-Wan paused.

"We lost two troopers," he admitted. Veers's _ira _marks flickered again.

"The ones who were with me," she muttered. It wasn't really a question – her memories of the last few hours of the incident were practically nonexistent, but she knew that the three of them had been the sickest.

The only reason Veers was alive, despite having been closer to the blast than the two troopers, was because clones had a slightly weaker immune system than most other lifeforms. The virus had worked through them more quickly than with the others. She swallowed hard. Obi-Wan touched his Padawan's shoulder in a comforting manner. He could sense her guilt.

"This is war, young one," he said. "People die. But those troopers – and _you _– saved a lot of people today." Veers opened her eyes a crack. "You did good work," Obi-Wan told his Padawan. There wasn't a shadow of doubt in his voice. Obi-Wan squeezed her shoulder once more. "Now get some rest."

* * *

**i hope this chapter wasn't too shitty...i'm not super happy with it because i wanted to start with a mission that focuses mainly on obi-wan to develop his and veers's relationship...unfortunately there really wasn't one.**

** i considered having veers go with anakin and obi-wan to iego, but i decided against it and went with this instead...not sure if i made the right choice tbh. **

**anyways, i hope you enjoyed? please leave a review - they keep me fortified ;) **

**let me know what you think! i love any and all feedback. **


	3. (Im)Patience on Ryloth

**To ZabuzasGirl: Thank you! Glad you're enjoying it!**

**To Austrian: I'm glad you enjoy Ahsoka and Veers's friendship! Thanks for your feedback!**

**I changed the image on the story - I wanted it to look more like the Clone Wars animation, so I ended up repainting Padme...I'm going to keep working it because in my mind Veers looks different, but yeah...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars**

* * *

**_Planet Ryloth invaded! Subjected to a brutal droid occupation, the people of Ryloth are starving under the blockade of a Separatist fleet. Evil Separatist leader Wat Tambor now rules with an iron fist. Answering a plea from the Senate, the Grand Army of the Republic mounts a bold offensive to liberate the system. It is up to Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka to make way for Obi-Wan's ground assault._**

Veers followed Obi-Wan onto the bridge of the starship, the Acclamator. The two of them and Master Windu were on their way to Ryloth, ready to liberate the Twi'lek people whom the Separatists were controlling.

The planet was surrounded by a powerful blockade of Separatist ships. Anakin and Ahsoka were mounting an aerial attack so that Obi-Wan and Master Windu could invade the planet with a ground assault. Anakin had contacted them just after Ahsoka had left to lead her squadron in an attempt to break the blockade, and they were going to check in on their progress.

"General on the bridge!" A clone announced as Obi-Wan and Veers walked into the room. Obi-Wan waved his hand dismissively, motioning for the troopers to continue working. He walked over to Master Windu, who was conversing with Anakin via hologram.

_"They caught us by surprise, Master," _Anakin said regretfully as Obi-Wan walked up. Captain Rex was standing next to him, but Veers noticed that Ahsoka was nowhere to be seen. A jolt of concern went through Veers - where was she? Anakin pressed a button, opening up a hologram on his side of the conversation to display the Separatist blockade, still completely intact. _"We were outnumbered."_

"How many men did you lose?" Obi-Wan asked Anakin, a concerned frown on his face. Anakin sighed.

_ "We lost a cruiser: The Redeemer," _Anakin replied. His shoulders were slightly slumped. _"Plus…an entire squadron of fighters." _Veers's eyes stretched wide with shock as she recalled the plan that Anakin had briefed with them.

"Ahsoka was leading that squadron!" she exclaimed, her concern for her fellow Padawan spiking. Obi-Wan cast his apprentice a slightly disapproving look. Not that he wouldn't be worried of Ahsoka's safety, but he knew without confirmation that Ahsoka was safe. Anakin would have been noticeably distraught if she wasn't.

"_Don't worry, Veers," _Anakin replied quickly. "_Ahsoka's fine. She's...recovering from the battle."_ Veers frowned at the contradiction of that statement.

"If she's recovering, then she's not fine," the Motien said.

"That's enough, Veers," Obi-Wan cut in, giving his apprentice another look. She dropped her gaze, knowing that she'd spoken out of turn.

"_It's fine, Master," _Anakin said to Obi-Wan. Then, looking back at Veers, he said gently, "_Losing her squadron was hard for Ahsoka to take," _he explained. Veers nodded slowly. She understood that much – she knew how she'd felt just a few weeks ago when the two troopers had died from the virus.

"Give her time," Obi-Wan advised his former Padawan. "But, Anakin – you will need her help if you want to get through this." Anakin nodded. This wasn't news to him - he was going to need all the help he could get to break the blockade, and Ahsoka was invaluable.

_"I know," _he replied with a sigh.

"Your forces have been cut in half, Skywalker," Master Windu said, speaking for the first time. The Jedi Master was concerned about the outlook of the siege. "If you cannot break that blockade before the next planetary rotation, we will have to postpone the invasion." Veers started at this assertion. Noticing her reaction, Obi-Wan placed his hand on his Padawan's shoulder to quiet her. Veers obeyed.

"_The Twi'leks on that planet can't wait forever, Master," _Anakin replied, voicing Veers's own concerns. _"The longer the Techno Union keeps control of Ryloth, the more difficult it will be to free them." _Master Windu nodded.

"I agree. We don't have much time." Anakin's eyes widened ever-so-slightly, and he nodded gravely. Master Windu turned to leave the bridge, and Obi-Wan followed. Veers quickened her pace after her Master, glancing back at the hologram as Anakin disappeared.

"Master," Veers ventured as she and Obi-Wan left the bridge and parted from Master Windu. Obi-Wan glanced at his Padawan, and she continued, "If Master Skywalker can't break the blockade, then the Twi'leks –"

"Anakin will find a way," Obi-Wan cut his Padawan off. "He always does."

Veers frowned, her _ira _marks flickering slightly with her concern.

It wasn't that she doubted Anakin – she knew that he was a very capable Jedi General. Everyone knew that though he could be reckless at times, he was good at strategy and he was smart. Still, the Separatist invasion of a peaceful planet put Veers on edge – it just hit too close to home.

Veers turned away. She was afraid to voice any of these concerns - she didn't want to give Obi-Wan a reason to have her sit out of the mission. She had just been cleared for battle after recovering from the blue shadow virus - it had taken her slightly longer to recover than the others because of her potent exposure to it. Ahsoka had returned to the front lines nearly a week ago, but Veers had had to wait.

She was antsy, and eager to do something to stop the Separatists.

So instead of voicing any of her concerns, Veers simply dipped her head and murmured an obedient, "Yes, Master."

* * *

Veers stood next to Obi-Wan and Master Windu on the bridge as the Acclamator came out of hyperspace. As the cruiser slowed down, the passengers were able to see the battle in front of them. To say it was an odd sight would be an understatement.

"What is going on?" Obi-Wan muttered, peering through the windows with a frown. Veers looked out as well, blinking in surprise. She noticed a lone escape pod hovering on the outskirts of the battle, and that the Resolute was tilted on its side. The other two Starcruisers were nowhere to be seen. Veers was relieved to see that the blockade _had _been broken, but she didn't quite know what to make of the rest of the scene.

"Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said, opening up a transmission. "This is Obi-Wan. May we begin our landing?" Ahsoka's answer was prompt.

"_Yes, Master," _she responded. Veers could hear the hint of pride in her friend's voice. "_You're cleared for ground assault." _

"I won't even ask where the rest of Anakin's fleet is," Obi-Wan said in a long-suffering tone as he surveyed the battlefield. "Or why he's in an _escape pod." _

"_That's…probably for the best," _Ahsoka responded with a huff of laughter. "_Rex, that reminds me. Send a shuttle to pick up Master Skywalker." _Obi-Wan shook his head in a mixture of amusement and exasperation at Anakin's eccentricity. Veers couldn't help noticing with a hint of amusement that it was the same expression that he often gave Veers herself.

"Let's move out," Master Windu said, glancing at Obi-Wan. The younger Jedi Master nodded. He beckoned his Padawan, and Veers walked after the two Jedi Masters towards the hangar. She and Obi-Wan and Master Windu were going in separate waves in order to maximize effectivity.

"The first trick," Obi-Wan said as he, Veers, and Master Windu entered the hangar and walked towards a gunship. "Will be getting our troops on the ground."

"If you take the city of Nabat first, we'll have our landing zone," Master Windu replied, stopping at the edge of the gunship. Veers and Obi-Wan boarded the ship, turning around to face Master Windu.

"Well," Obi-Wan said, crossing his arms over his chest. He glanced at Veers. "It's time to meet the natives." Master Windu nodded gravely.

"May the Force be with you," he said as the doors to the gunship closed, sealing Master Windu off from the others. Veers reached up over her head, grabbing onto one of the straps of the gunship to remain balanced as the aircraft began to move. The gunship exited the Acclamator, soaring through the open air to the planet below.

Obi-Wan turned to face the rest of the squadron.

"We need to remember why we're here," he said. "We came to aid the Twi'leks, not destroy their home." Obi-Wan nodded at the Clone Commander behind him, motioning for Cody to continue. Obi-Wan and Veers stepped aside to let Commander Cody finish briefing the troops.

"That means we'll be taking it back the hard way," Cody continued, looking around at his men sternly. "Minimal destruction with blasters and droid poppers _only. _No rockets or detonators." Cody crossed his arms over his chest. "Check your eight, keeps your eyes out for the locals. Am I understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the troopers aboard the gunship chanted together, saluting their commander. Cody nodded, satisfied.

A hologram flickered in the middle of the gunship, and Veers stepped back to aovid interfering with the transmission. Master Windu appeared in the center of the ship.

"Master Windu," Obi-Wan greeted the other Jedi, slightly surprised and more than slightly concerned. He hadn't expected to hear from the other Jedi this early on, and anticipated bad news.

"_Kenobi," _Master Windu said. _"We can't risk landing the larger transport until you take out those guns." _Veers glanced through the crack between the ship's door, peeking out into the war-torn sky. The pilot was doing a good job avoiding the blasts, but Veers could see rockets exploding in the air all around. Given that the Acclamator was a lot bigger than this gunship, it was considerably harder for the starship to avoid the blasts.

Obi-Wan nodded sharply. "Pull back," he advised Master Windu. "We'll take care of it." Master Windu nodded, and the hologram disappeared. Veers glanced at her Master as the gunship began to descend. Her nerves must have been displayed clearly in her expression, because Obi-Wan gave his Padawan a reassuring smile.

The doors to the gunships slid open, and Veers tightened her grip around the strap to keep her balance. She turned to look at the rapidly approaching ground. In order to give the squadron some amount of cover, the pilot took the ship down to a jungle area of Ryloth, just off the outskirts of Nabat.

The gunship pulled to a stop and hovered a few inches off the ground. Veers leapt off, moving several paces away to make room for the others as Cody and Obi-Wan joined her. Without a word, Obi-Wan kept through the jungle, weaving through trees and undergrowth nimbly. Veers followed, keeping one hand on her lightsaber apprehensively.

Through the trees, Veers could see a large wall. It was the barrier surrounding the city, Nabat. Droids were patrolling the top of the barrier, and as Veers watched, one of them trained its gun on the squadron.

"Master," Veers said nervously, her eyes locked on the droids. "I think they see us."

She unsheathed both of her lightsabers, stepping slightly away from Obi-Wan so that they were far enough away from one another to not clip each other's swings.

Despite the fact that Veers and Obi-Wan were able to absorb the gunfire from the blasters, it didn't take long for the shooting to become too thick to keep pressing forward. The squadron slid behind a thicket of trees, keeping their backs pressed against the trunks for cover.

"That bunker is going to be a problem, General," Commander Cody said, nodding towards two identical huts. The rounded top protected the droids inside from fire, but they had the perfect vantage point to shoot at the Ghost Company.

"Leave the bunker to me," Obi-Wan replied confidently. "Just bring your troopers in at my signal." The Jedi Master turned his head, gauging the time between gunfire. After listening for a moment, he beckoned Veers.

The two Jedi darted through the trees, weaving in and around the trunks while avoiding the blaster fire. Most of the troopers stayed behind to lay down cover fire, but Cody and a couple others followed Obi-Wan and Veers.

"Let's take them out!" Obi-Wan shouted. Two of the troopers pulled out droid poppers from their belts. They each threw it towards one of the bunkers, and Obi-Wan and Veers steadied the deactivator with the Force to ensure that it made it to where it was supposed to go.

The bombs went off, sending an electrical discharge that deactivated the droids in the bunker. Obi-Wan nodded at his Padawan approvingly, pleased that she'd picked up on his plan.

"Ghost Company, let's move!" Commander Cody ordered his squadron. The remaining troopers rushed towards the smaller group.

Now that the bunker had been destroyed, the remaining droids had no cover. Though they kept shooting at the squadron below, they were sitting ducks on top of the wall, and were taken out in no time.

The Ghost Company scaled the wall and split off into pairs to take care of any remaining droids. Obi-Wan walked to the edge of the barricade, looking out at the planet below him. Veers stood next to her Master, looking around. Off in the distance she could make out smoke, and she swallowed hard.

_A bomb exploded close enough to the castle that the palace walls shook. The seven-year-old princess shook with fear as Rizak pulled her through the halls, towards the hangar. "What about my mom?" Veers asked plaintively. _

"I sense your anxiety," Obi-Wan said to his Padawan. Veers flinched, snapping out of her unwanted memory.

"Sorry, Master," she replied. Obi-Wan looked at his Padawan sympathetically. He could guess what was running through her head – not only were her _ira _marks betraying her distress, but it was logical.

"I know that this must remind you of the invasion of your planet," Obi-Wan said quietly. Veers cast Obi-Wan a guarded look, dropping her gaze. She shifted uncomfortably.

"I…yes," she admitted with a sigh. "I suppose it does." She tried to speak nonchalantly, like it wasn't really bothering her. She wasn't sure how well she did, and Obi-Wan placed a hand on Veers's shoulder. She looked back up at her teacher, and Obi-Wan smiled reassuringly.

"You're doing well, Veers," Obi-Wan reassured his Padawan. "I know that this may be upsetting for you, but the best way to ensure that Ryloth does not meet the same fate that Motia did is to focus." Veers nodded.

"Yes, Master," she replied, trying not to betray her irritation. She faintly wished that Rizak was still alive and teaching her. He had understood her pain and confusion and encouraged her to use her emotions as a strength. Veers didn't tell Obi-Wan this, as she expected the Jedi Master would encourage her to try and ignore her feelings.

Veers wished that Obi-Wan could see her in one of her moments when she channeled her emotions into the Force. It was just her luck that she'd been sidelined until this mission to recover from the blue shadow virus, and that Obi-Wan hadn't been there to see her help apprehend Vindi.

"The wall is secure, sir," Cody told Obi-Wan. Veers looked back up, shaking off her thoughts. "Are we moving onto the guns?"

"We need to know what the droids have in store for us," Obi-Wan said, looking at the smoke plumes in the distance. "Send your best men to scout ahead." Veers listened in disbelief. Though Obi-Wan's plan was logical, it also felt like a waste of time.

"Master," Veers protested as Cody saluted Obi-Wan and walked off to brief his troops. "Do you really think we have time for that?" Obi-Wan nodded.

"I agree it's not ideal," he told his Padawan regretfully. "But it's better than going in blind." Veers pressed her lips together so she wouldn't disagree verbally. She took a deep breath.

"May I go with them?" Veers asked as respectfully as she possibly could. Obi-Wan shook his head. Veers's _ira _marks flared with irritation. "Master, please. I can't just sit here and do nothing." Obi-Wan sighed.

In the short time that Obi-Wan had been training her, he learned that patience was not Veers's strong suit. At all.

It showed up in little ways, like when she would interrupt him with a question instead of waiting to see if he'd provide the information had she just listened and waited. But it also showed up in larger ways. She got reckless on the battlefield, went in headfirst without a plan.

Obi-Wan had to admit that this was a new problem for him. Though training Anakin's recklessness had been difficult in its own way, Anakin almost always had a plan. Even if it was a half-baked, barely formulated plan that he didn't share, Anakin was a brilliant strategist.

Veers, on the other hand, tended to wing things completely. In training exercises, she usually found herself backed into corners that she could have easily avoided. Obi-Wan wasn't eager to see that happen during a battle.

"You must learn patience, my young apprentice," he reminded Veers. She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. Obi-Wan sighed. "Meditate until the troops return," he told her. Veers looked up at Obi-Wan to see if he was serious. When she saw that he was, a flicker of irriation flashed through her, making her _ira _marks flare violently.

"Fine," she muttered, turning to walk away.

Meditation was considered a vital part of the Jedi Code, but Veers hated to meditate. The point of meditation was to clear one's head of everything – thoughts _and _feelings.

Veers had no problem clearing her head of tangible thought. But she couldn't _not _feel. It went against her very nature. Stewing over this, Veers found a place to sit on the ground. Sitting down and crossing her legs, Veers closed her eyes to focus.

Obi-Wan watched her go, his eyes narrowed in concern. He wasn't even concerned about Veers's focus harming the mission – though she didn't know, Anakina had told him that he had seen Veers channel her emotions into the Force instead of blocking them. It _was _unconventional, but Obi-Wan didn't necessarily disapprove. Rizak had known Veers better than he had, and he had trained her into a good Jedi. If it worked for her, he wasn't against it.

What he _was _worried about was Veers's wellbeing. He knew that she would do anything she could to protect Ryloth and the Twi'leks from succumbing to the same fate Motia had. He just wasn't sure that she would be able to protect herself while she did so.

Veers was already impatient to the point of recklessness. That, combined with her heightened emotions and drive to execute this mission perfectly, didn't bode well with Obi-Wan. He was worried about his Padawan.

If she was going to be angry at him, so be it. Meditating before they laid siege to the cannons would protect her, and that was all Obi-Wan cared about.

As Veers meditated in the corner, Obi-Wan walked around the blockade, checking in with the other troops. He made sure to see to it that those who had been wounded in the initial struggle had been tended to, and reviewed mission parameters with the clones.

Cody had taken Waxer, Boil, and Wooley with him to scout around Nabat. Obi-Wan had cautioned the four not to stay out too long, so he knew that they should be on their way back soon. The Jedi headed back over to Veers.

The Motien's eyes were closed, her breathing slow and steady. The pulsing of her _ira _marks had slowed considerably, and the magenta color had lightened slightly. She didn't acknowledge Obi-Wan's presence, but he could tell that she was aware of her surroundings.

"General!" Obi-Wan turned around. Commander Cody and Wooley were rushing up to the Jedi. Upon hearing the clone's voice, Veers opened her eyes and stood up, returning to Obi-Wan's side.

"Cody," Obi-Wan greeted his second-in-command. "What did you find?"

"We should open a transmission to General Windu, sir," Cody replied. "He's going to need to hear this, too." Obi-Wan nodded. Without being told, Veers was already opening up a transmission. She was quiet as she did so, projecting a map of Nabat out in front of the group when Cody requested it.

"We found the guns," Cody told the two Generals when Master Windu appeared on the other side of the transmission. Veers stepped up behind her instructor to listen. "They're in the courtyard here and here." He indicated the spots on the map. "But there's a complication. They've taken the locals hostage and are using them as shields." Veers's eyes widened.

"If the Twi'leks are being held prisoner, taking the guns will be difficult," she murmured, momentarily forgetting that she wasn't to speak unless spoken to. Neither Obi-Wan nor Master Windu reprimanded her.

"Difficult," Obi-Wan agreed. "But not impossible. I still have a good plan for taking out those guns." Veers glanced at Obi-Wan curiously, but he didn't expand on what his plan was.

_"Getting those villagers out of harm's way is our first priority," _Master Windu said. "_I have faith in you, General Kenobi." _The transmission flickered and then disappeared as Master Windu ended it. Obi-Wan turned towards Cody, already beginning to set his plan into action.

"Cody, go in with everything we have. Clear those hostages." The commander saluted Obi-Wan, going off to gather the other troopers. Obi-Wan turned towards Veers. "Are you ready?" Veers straightened up.

"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan nodded.

"Good. Let's move out." Veers followed her instructor to the edge of the blockade. The clones were checking the inventory of weapons and suiting up for battle. Commander Cody was off to the side, a scowl fixed upon his face as he glared down at the communicator.

"What's wrong?" Veers asked curiously. The commander glanced at the Jedi Padawan, shaking his head in a mixture of irritation, confusion, and concern.

"Waxer and Boil aren't responding," he replied. Veers frowned. Waxer and Boil were some of the best troops in the squadron. It was odd for them to disobey orders. "They haven't returned from scouting." Obi-Wan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"That isn't like them," he mused, voicing Veers's thoughts. "They may have run into trouble." Cody frowned. He turned towards the assembled group of troopers standing nearby.

"Sergeant," he ordered. "Use the high-powered transmitter to see if you can reach Waxer and Boil." The clone saluted, rushing off to power up the machine. Veers shifted uncomfortably. Despite the fact that Obi-Wan had had her meditate to calm herself, she couldn't shake the feeling of urgency.

"Master, we shouldn't delay the siege much longer," she murmured anxiously. To her relied, Obi-Wan didn't tell her to be patient. He just nodded.

"I agree," he said. He turned back to Cody. "Let's get the rest of the men moving. The others will catch up." Commander Cody nodded. He called out a signal to the rest of the troopers, and they fell into line with Obi-Wan.

The Ghost Company squadron hiked down the barricade, heading towards Nabat. Veers found herself unconsciously navigating to the front of the pack as the smoke plumes got closer. She made sure to stay with the group in the lead so Obi-Wan couldn't complain about her straying off.

Veers and a few clones rounded a bend before the others. The Jedi Padawan took a few steps forwards, and then she paused. Something felt off…

"Hold," she ordered the clones, using one hand to motion them back and the other to unsheathe her blue lightsaber. The troopers followed her order, shifting into battle positions behind her.

In the distance, Veers heard a faint rumble, and then pounding footsteps. It was too loud to be droids…

"Gutkurrs!" she shouted, her eyes widening in horror as the insectoid species came racing towards the squadron at full speed. "Fall back!" The troopers began to fire at the creatures as the retreated, but the gutkurrs' hides were thick and largely blaster-resistant.

"Aim for their eyes!" Veers heard Cody order as the gutkurrs forced her and the clones back around the bend to regroup with the others. Veers leapt over a gutkurr as it charged at her, managing to avoid being thrown aside.

Veers glanced around. Another of the creatures was racing towards her. Without thinking, Veers sheathed her lightsaber. She gauged the distance, and then leapt forwards. Landing on top of the creature, Veers wrapped her arms around the neck of it, pulling it upwards to control the creature's movements.

Obi-Wan watched is Padawan in mild disbelief. Veers stripped off the sash she wore around her waist, wrapping it around the gutkurr's neck. She steered the creature over to another, lashing the scarf to the other gutkurr as well.

The creature reared, screeching in protest. As it whipped its head around, Veers found it difficult to remain balanced. Gritting her teeth, she urged the gutkurr forwards, attempting to run it into the wall. The gutkurr bucked once more, and Veers went flying. She hit the rocky wall and fell to the ground with a grunt.

Veers sat up slowly, wincing. Dazed from her fall, she didn't notice the gutkurrs she'd tied together stalking towards her.

"Veers!" Obi-Wan called a warning to his Padawan. She raised her head. Seeing the gutkurrs, her _ira _marks pulsed in surprise and fear.

Obi-Wan raised his hands, channeling the Force. The gutkurrs cornering his Padawan turned slowly and began to walk towards Obi-Wan. Closing his eyes to focus, Obi-Wan raised his other hand.

One by one, all the gutkurrs stopped attacking and turned towards Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master walked backwards, leading the gutkurrs away from the squadron. Veers got to her feet slowly, rubbing the sore spot on the back of her head.

One of the troopers raised his gun, and Veers threw a hand out.

"Hold your fire," she ordered, her voice slightly raspy and breathless from her fall. The clone obeyed, lowering his blaster to watch Obi-Wan. The trooper stared at Obi-Wan in amazement as the Jedi continued to lead the gutkurrs backwards.

"Incredible," he murmured.

"Quiet, rookie," Cody ordered. Veers stepped forward slightly, scanning the terrain. Her eyes fell on a bridge, arching over the canyon that Obi-Wan was leading the gutkurrs into. She raised her hand.

"Aim for the bridge," she told the troopers. "Wait for Master Kenobi's signal." The troopers raised their weapons, aiming at the arching bridge. There was a beat of tense silence, and then Obi-Wan called out.

"Now!" The troopers began to fire, and the bridge came crumbling down with a loud rumble. Even over the noise, Veers heard the gutkurrs began to snarl violently as their trance was broken. Obi-Wan had anticipated this and dodged the gutkurr's attack.

The Jedi Master slid between two of the creatures, snatching Veers's sash as he did so. Ducking another gutkurr's snapping jaws, Obi-Wan then leapt forwards, tucking into a flip and sprinfing off a gutkurr's back to land safely on the other side of the falling rocks. He stood up, glancing back over his shoulder to make sure none of the creatures had followed.

"How did you _think _of that?" Veers asked in amazement. Obi-Wan chuckled in his usual mixture of amusement and exasperation, handing Veers her sash. She took it back, wrapping it around her waist once more.

"The difference between you and I, my young apprentice," Obi-Wan said sternly. "Is that I _plan." _He paused, catching his Padawan's shoulder so that she turned to look at him. "You _must _learn to not leap headfirst into battle," he reprimanded her. "You could have died." Chagrined, Veers pressed her lips together, her _ira _marks flickering with embarrassment.

"Yes, Master," she replied, bowing her head. Commander Cody joined the two Jedi, handing Obi-Wan his lightsaber that he'd dropped. Obi-Wan accepted with a nod of thanks, beckoning the remaining troopers to follow.

Suddenly, there was a loud clatter from a nearby manhole. Obi-Wan swept his hand back, unsheathing his lightsaber. Veers unsheathed hers as well, and the clones fell into defensive positions, aiming their guns at the ground.

Obi-Wan frowned, focusing. Following his gut instinct, he sheathed his lightsaber once more. "Don't shoot," he ordered. "Veers, stand down." The Padawan obeyed, placing her weapon back at her hip.

The manhole cover was pushed to the side, and Waxer and Boil climbed out. They seemed slightly surprised to realize they'd come upon the rest of the squadron, but immediately fell into salutes.

"Waxer, Boil!" Commander Cody stepped forward to scold his two troopers. "Where have you two slackers been?" The two troopers saluted their superior. Even with their helmets covering their faces, Veers could sense their sheepishness. Motiens were inherently good at sensing emotions and being Force-sensitive made it easy for Veers to tell emotions of others.

"Sorry, sir," Waxer said. "There is an explanation."

"We got a little…sidetracked," Boil added. Obi-Wan turned towards the two troopers, looking at them curiously. He laughed slightly.

"I think I see what sidetracked you," Obi-Wan said, amused. Veers followed his gaze. A little Twi'lek girl was peeking out shyly from behind the clones' legs. She ducked behind Waxer again, and Veers smiled. Obi-Wan knelt down.

"Hello, little one," he said gently, offering the child a smile. She flinched backwards, covering her face with a gasp. Veers stepped forward slowly.

"Master," Veers said, looking at the little girl sympathetically. "May I?" Obi-Wan moved back slightly, and Veers knelt down the the Twi'lek's height.

"Don't be scared," Veers soothed the child. She knelt down to the youngling's height and offered her hand to the little girl, and the Twi'lek stepped forward hesitantly. She placed her hand in Veers's, and the Motien focused. Her _ira _marks pulsed gently, and the Twi'lek visibly relaxed. She looked at Veers worshipfully.

"What was that?" Waxer asked, a mixture of confused and intrigued. Veers stood back up.

"I just calmed her down a little," Veers responded. Motiens had the ability to subtly influence emotions in others. They couldn't manipulate someone into feeling something they didn't want to or couldn't feel, but they could bring out emotions a person was hiding. Though the youngling was scared, but Veers could calm her down by carefully extending the trust she already had for Waxer and Boil. "How did you get here?"

"She brought us here through the tunnels, sir," Waxer explained. "She knows her way around them pretty good." Obi-Wan smiled.

_"Nu nala guinjon wilo?" _he asked the youngling in Twi'leki, motioning towards the square. The little girl followed his gesture and then nodded, a small smile spreading across her face.

"_Ooh, yana yana!" _she responded eagerly. "_Wah nerra. Cumee nerra!" _She tugged on Waxer's hand as she spoke. Obi-Wan nodded, satisfied by the girl's answer. He turned to Cody and Veers.

"The girl can lead us through the tunnels to the prisoners," he translated. "Cody, we're going to need a diversion." Cody nodded, gathering up a few of his men to continue to the square the way they'd originally planned.

Obi-Wan picked up the Twi'lek, settling the little girl on his shoulder. With her instruction, he led Veers, Waxer, and Boil through the tunnels and towards Nabat. After the Twi'lek had led them through several different turns, she told Obi-Wan to stop and pointed towards an exit in the ceiling. Obi-Wan nodded.

"We're here," he told the others.

The small squad surfaced just below the square. They were in an underground dungeon – by the smell of it, Veers was guessing this was where they'd kept the gutkurrs. She wrinkled her nose.

Veers slid in front of Obi-Wan, quickly taking out a guard droid with a swish of her lightsaber before it could alert anyone else to their presence. The hum of her weapon made the only other droid in the dungeon look up. The robot was unarmed, scrubbing the floor of the cage.

"What?" it said in confusion, as Obi-Wan locked it inside the cage. Realizing what was happening, the droid lowered its head. "Oh…"

"We'll take care of this," Obi-Wan said, nodding at Veers. He turned towards Waxer and Boil, handing Waxer the Twi'lek child. "You keep her here," he said, referring to the youngling. Without waiting for them to acknowledge his orders, Obi-Wan led his Padawan up the steps.

The two Jedi paused at the top of the staircase, peeking out over the ledge to view the square. Veers could make out the emaciated Twi'leks just beyond the cannons. She twitched, ready to rush out.

"Wait!" Obi-Wan said, grabbing Veers's arm. She looked towards her teacher, and he stared back calmly. "What's your plan?" he asked her. Veers blinked.

"Wha – plan? I thought you had a plan," she responded in confusion. Obi-Wan's lips twitched in amusement.

"_I_ do have a plan," he replied. "I want to hear yours." Veers sighed impatiently, shifting in her crouch. Obi-Wan's voice took on a stern tone as he whispered to his Padawan. "Don't go rushing in, Veers. _Think." _Veers took a deep breath.

"There will be too much collateral damage if we try to take out the cannons when Cody starts the distraction," Veers thought out loud. "So…free the villagers, first. Get them out of harm's way. _Then _go for the cannons." She looked at Obi-Wan, and the elder Jedi nodded, a glimmer of pride on his face.

It was the same idea he'd had, but he'd wanted Veers to verbalize it. The Motien was extremely good at picking up on Obi-Wan's ideas without his verbalizing them, as she had shown earlier with the gutkurrs, but he wanted his Padawan to get in the habit of thinking things through for herself _before _she was forced to.

"Very good, Veers." Obi-Wan turned slightly to motion to Waxer and Boil to join them, and the two clones rushed up the steps to join the Jedi. Obi-Wan hesitated one moment longer, and then gave the other three the signal to move.

The small squadron crouched behind the base of a statue overlooking the square. The base was large enough to give them cover, but small enough that Cody could see them behind it. The Clone Commander nodded, motioning for the rest of the Ghost Company to move in after him.

"Now!" Obi-Wan said as soon as he heard the first noise of blasters firing. Veers flipped forwards, slashing through the nearest battle droids. She landed in the center of the square, among the Twi'leks. The villagers stood up, murmuring in Twi'leki to one another as they stared at Veers hopefully.

The Jedi Padawan began to quickly cut through the binders on the Twi'leks' wrists. She was careful to not harm the villagers as she did so. Obi-Wan and Veers moved as quickly as possible, cutting through the prisoners' bonds while the clone troopers fought off the droids and laid down cover fire.

Once all the locals were free, Obi-Wan beckoned them backwards, back towards the underground dungeons where they'd be safe from blaster fire. "_Wachamio! Wachamio!" _

Veers stayed in the square, unsheathing both of her lightsabers and blocking as much of the enemy fire as she could to ensure a safe escape for the Twi'leks.

"Waxer, Boil, come with me!" Obi-Wan shouted to the two troopers. "Veers, regroup with Commander Cody."

"Yes, Master!" Veers called back, rushing across the square to join the rest of the squadron. As she got to the other edge, she could see that the clones were being slowly pressed back. She spoke into her communicator. "Cody, how're you doing?"

_"We're fine, sir!" _the clone commander responded, easing Veers's concern. _"How's it looking over there?" _Veers turned around. In the time that it had taken her to cross the square, Obi-Wan, Waxer, and Boil had already destroyed two of the proton cannons. As she watched, Obi-Wan fired at another, destroying the third. The only one left was the one Obi-Wan was using to destroy the others.

"Great," Veers replied to Cody. "I'm on my –" she cut herself off with a gasp as the head tactical droid fired at Obi-Wan. "Master!"

The Jedi Master managed to avoid the actual shot, but the resounding explosion sent him, Waxer, and Boil flying to the ground. Veers changed trajectory instantaneously, spinning on her heel and racing over to Obi-Wan. She ignored Cody's confused questions on the other end of the transmission, focusing on getting to Obi-Wan in time. She slid to a halt next to her Master just was the little Twi'lek girl came rushing up.

"Master," Veers said, touching Obi-Wan on the shoulder. The Jedi groaned, slowly rising to his knees as the Twi'lek youngling offered him her support. Veers looked up, her eyes narrowing as she noted the cannons pointed directly at them. Two assault tanks were surrounding them.

"Ha ha ha!" The tactical droid in command of the mission laughed mechanically. "You lose, Kenobi!" Veers scowled.

"You sure?" she asked. She rose to her feet and took a step backwards. Leaping up onto the first assault tank, Veers slashed her lightsaber through the droid in control of it. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the former Twi'lek prisoners storming the other tank and ripping the commander droid apart with their bare hands.

Whipping around, the Padawan sliced the cannon off of the tank, catching it with the Force before it could fall and hit Obi-Wan or the Twi'lek youngling. Concentrating, Veers slung the cannon across the square, sending it flying into the last proton cannon.

The explosion sent a wave of heat across the square, and Veers flipped backwards to land on the ground once more. No sooner than had her feet touched the soil than did the Padawan whip around, rushing back to Obi-Wan's side.

"Master, are you alright?" she asked, supporting the other Jedi's weight. Obi-Wan smiled, allowing Veers to help him. Though he had no terrible injuries, he was rather sore from having been thrown across the square by an explosion.

"I'm fine, Veers," he responded. He looked around, surveying the square with an exhausted but relieved expression on his face. The former prisoners were celebrating their liberation and victory against the tactical droid, hugging one another and crying out happily in Twi'leki. The little girl who had helped them was over by Waxer and Boil once more, dancing around the two clones.

And now that the proton cannons were destroyed, the Acclamator had entered the atmosphere. Obi-Wan turned towards the sky - he could already see the ship beginning its descent – Master Windu and the rest of their reinforcements had arrived safely. Obi-Wan smiled. "More than fine."

* * *

"Great job getting rid of those cannons," Master Windu said to Obi-Wan and Veers. The Ghost Company had regrouped with the other Republic forces, and Obi-Wan had briefed Master Windu on the mission. Veers trailed behind the two Jedi Masters, only half-listening to their conversation. She found that she was surprisingly tired - perhaps a side effect of recovering from the virus.

"Now we have a more difficult objective," Master Windu continued gravely. "We must take the capital, and free this world." Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. Master Windu departed from the other two Jedi, going to brief his troops, and Obi-Wan turned to Veers.

"You're heading back to Coruscant," he told her. Veers stared at her Master, but he continued before she could protest. "You're fresh off medical leave," he reminded her. "I'd rather not have you get sick again from pushing yourself too hard." Veers made a face.

"I feel fine," she said. It was mostly truthfully - she was just _tired, _not sick. Jedi were _always _tired - they were at war! Obi-Wan shook his head.

"Even so…"

Veers sighed, nodding her head in acquiescence. It wasn't as though she truly had much say in the matter, and besides, Padawans didn't go on every mission their Masters did. It was likely that she would have lessons to attend at the Jedi Temple until Obi-Wan returned from Ryloth.

"Well, I suppose I can practice my patience," Veers said, only half-serious. Obi-Wan smirked at his Padawan.

"You'll have to," he replied, as the two continued to walk. Waxer and Boil joined the two Jedi, and Obi-Wan continued, "Who knows how long securing Ryloth will take?" Veers groaned in faux-annoyance, and Obi-Wan chuckled.

_"Nerra, nerra!" _Numa, the Twi'lek youngling who had helped them, was calling out after Waxer and Boil. Veers glanced over her shoulder, smiling as she saw the little girl waving enthusasticallly. "_Nerra!" _

"Sir," Boil asked Obi-Wan curiously. "What is that she keeps calling us?" Obi-Wan smiled slightly.

"_Nerra," _he repeated. "It means 'brother.'" Veers couldn't help but grin at that – it was just so sweet. Waxer and Boil both paused, exchanging glances. As the two troopers paused to turn back and wave at Numa, Obi-Wan glanced at his Padawan.

"You did well today," he told Veers. He walked her over to the transporter ship standing by to take her and wounded troopers back to Coruscant for treatment. Veers ducked her head, her _ira _marks flickering with pride at the praise. Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow. "I can't help but wonder what your plan was when you destroyed that tank."

"Oh, I _definitely _had a plan," Veers said. "In fact, I _always _have a plan." Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.

"Do tell."

Veers glanced at Obi-Wan mischievously. "To_ wing it."_

Obi-Wan shook his head in fond exasperation. He had expected as much. Though he still believed that that Veers would greatly benefit from learning patience and a strategic head, he was proud of her ability to think quickly on her feet.

"Will you _ever _learn, my _very _young Padawan?" Veers laughed as she stepped into the ship. The ship beeped, and she smiled at Obi-Wan teasingly as the doors closed.

"Not any time soon, my _old _Master."

* * *

**okay so...this chapter felt very hard to write for some reason. maybe i'm just not used to writing a clone wars fic yet, idk. it's a bit shorter, so sorry about that. **

**also, sorry if the twi'leki is wrong - i could only find a few of the translation spellings online, so some of it i had to do by ear. **

**anyways, please leave a review and let me know what you think! i would seriously love some feedback, so don't be shy! :)**


	4. Holocron Heist

**To Austrian: Thank you for your feedback! I appreciate it. Glad you like Veers's ability :)**

**To Pandora151: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like her and Obi-Wan's relationship!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars**

* * *

**_Jedi trapped on Felucia! Clones are surrounded by droid forces. Their only hope is to escape on Republic gunships waiting to land on the embattled surface. Jedi cruisers have managed to blow a hole in the droid defenses and have sent gunships to the rescue._**

"Commander, we're about to be overrun!" Veers grit her teeth, swinging her lightsaber out again to block blaster fire. She nodded her head in acknowledgement of Waxer's statement, trying not to let her focus waver from the battle.

"Unfortunately!" she agreed, thrusting her hand out. She channeled the Force, knocking a couple battle droids back. As she accessed the Force, images of a very _different _battle filled her mind. ShShe clenched her fist, dropping the droids right on top of an explosive that another trooper had thrown.

"We can't retreat," Waxer added, shifting into a battle stance behind her and shooting down some droids. "The enemy is closing in around us – we'll never make it through."

Veers glanced around quickly and cursed. Waxer was right.

Panic rose in her chest, making her _ira _marks flicker slightly. Shaking her head, Veers took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. She shifted her gaze upwards, noticing how close the Master Plo's fighter squadron was. Her spirits lifted slightly.

"Troopers!" she shouted, raising her voice. "Group up! I think the gunships are on the way!" The clones in her squadron obeyed her order, pulling back to the base of the AT-TE that they had come with.

The heavy metal legs of the machine offered the squadron more protection as the enemy closed in. Veers scowled, risking another glance at the sky to see where the aircrafts where. There was still no sign of them.

"Master Kenobi!" Veers said, turning on her communicator to contact her instructor. Both she and Ahsoka had been dispatched on jungle patrols with a squadron of troopers, but Veers's patrol had quickly turned into an all-out fire fight. "This is Veers. We're three klicks southwest of your original position. The enemy is closing in!" There was a moment of tense silence, and the Obi-Wan responded.

_"We're on our way, Veers," _he reassured her. Veers let out a sigh, relieved for half a second. But when she glanced up, it only took a quick glance around to tell her that the squadron was now unable to leave the safety of the AT-TE's – the droid army had closed in too far; there was no space for the gunships to land.

Veers made an executive decision.

"Troopers, into the walker!" she shouted, pointing at the hatch on the bottom of the machine. The clone steering the AT-TE heard her command and opened the door from the control center. A ladder descended, and the troopers began to climb up, disappearing into the stomach of the walker. Veers stayed on the ground, parrying the blasts the best she could as she walked backwards, closer to the ladder.

Raising her wrist back to her face, Veers spoke into the communicator. "Master, we need a carrier here!"

"_Veers, leave the walker!" _Obi-Wan replied, sounding irritated.

"We're _in _the walker!" Veers responded, sheathing one of her lightsabers and stepping up the ladder. She put one hand and her feet on the rungs, keeping her other hand free to continue deflecting blaster shots. She was the last one on, Waxer just above her. The ladder began to retreat back into the machine automatically.

"_What?!" _Obi-Wan's voice registered his shock. The gunships had just arrived. He peered through a crack in the aircraft, seeing the walker on the ground. It was completely surrounded by droids – there was no place for the gunship to land, and there was no way their allies inside the walker could get out.

"What's going on?" Ahsoka asked nervously.

It was her fault they were delayed getting to Veers. Despite being ordered to stand down and retreat, Ahsoka had been convinced that she had broken through enemy lines. Her disobedience had cost them time, and Veers and her squadron were paying the price.

"They're in the walker," Obi-Wan responded, shaking his head. He spoke into the communicator again. "Veers, we _have _no carriers. They'll never get here in time."

There was a pause on the other end as Veers digested this information.

"Give me a minute," she said to Obi-Wan. She lowered her arm, ignoring Obi-Wan's harried protest that they didn't _have _a minute. She knew that the gunships were in more danger the longer they were in the air, but she had to hope that Master Plo's fighter squadron could keep the enemy occupied for just a little longer.

"Commander, what's going on?" It was the pilot of the AT-TE, ironically nicknamed "Gunner," speaking. Veers looked up, her magenta eyes refocusing as she assessed the situation. Her troopers were in good shape - they hadn't lost any men so far, and any injuries her squadron has sustained were superficial.

"No carriers," Veers responded, casting her gaze around the AT-TE. She could sense the sudden change in mood of the troopers – the hope of rescue disappearing into dread. If they couldn't be extracted, it was only a matter of time before the droids stormed the walker and either took Veers and the clones' hostage or, more likely, killed them.

"So, we're doomed, then," Waxer said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Have some faith, boys," Veers said airily. She wasn't yet concerned. They still had a little time. "We're just going to have to be creative."

"Sir?" Gunner asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion. Since he'd been inside the walker, he'd taken his helmet off for better visibility.

Veers didn't answer. She was still scanning the AT-TE, looking for a solution. Her eyes fell on the ceiling, and a thought occurred to her.

AT-TE's didn't have ceiling hatches, given that being on top of a tall machine was an extremely vulnerable position – sometimes Jedi and clones would fight from the top of a walker to take advantage of the high ground, but it was only beneficial in certain circumstances.

Surrounded by enemy with no cover fire was _not _one of those circumstances. But still...

Veers unsheathed her lightsaber, and some clones stepped back warily. They all trusted Veers not to harm them, but they _were _in rather close quarters.

The Padawan stepped up onto the console, stabbing her lightsaber through the ceiling. She cut a circle as swiftly as possible, a red ring of melted metal showing her work as she sheathed her weapon once more.

Veers shifted backwards slightly, thrusting her palm outwards. Even the small concentration it took to channel the Force made the connection. _"Veers!" Tayo shouted. "Stay!" _The circle flew off, leaving a small hatch for the squadron to clamber through. Veers shook her head, shaking of the image before turning towards the squadron.

The troopers realized her plan quickly, and began gathering up weapons and ammunition once more.

"_Veers?" _Obi-Wan's anxious voice came through the comm. Veers beckoned the squadron forwards, speaking to her Master as the hoisted herself up through the hole. She stayed low to the roof of the walker, unsheathing her lightsaber and standing up.

"I'm going to need you to get a little lower, Master," Veers said. She dropped her wrist, drawing her other weapon to widen the amount of fire she could block. The droids immediately noticed their targets above them and began to shoot.

"_Oh, you have _got _to be kidding me." _Veers ignored Obi-Wan's exasperated tone. She had bigger fish to fry than responding to her teacher.

The gunships in the sky circled lower and lower, until three different shuttles surrounded the sides of the AT-TE. Once the aircrafts were low enough and close enough that the squadron could jump in, the doors slid open.

Obi-Wan turned to face his Padawan, who hadn't budged. Veers was turned away from him slightly, deflecting fire and stalling her escape. Obi-Wan knew immediately why – she was trying to cover the rest of the squadron, give them time to escape before she did.

They didn't have time for her to be a hero. Raising his voice, Obi-Wan called to his Padawan. "Veers, _now!" _

The Motien turned, rolling into the gunship in a swift movement. She sheathed her lightsabers, standing up as the doors to the aircraft closed. Veers turned towards her Master, a small grin on her face.

"Not bad, right?"

Obi-Wan simply shook his head, shooting his Padawan a stern look that quieted her. Not only was it not the Jedi way to search for praise and boast, but now their escape had been narrow to say the least, and he was feeling a little high-strung.

Veers blinked in surprise, looking around at the others in the gunship. She noted the tension in the air, obvious to anyone but amplified due to her heightened sense of others' emotions. Her eyes fell on Ahsoka and Anakin. Ahsoka was staring at the ground, her head hanging low. Anakin looked irritated. Veers pursed her lips.

"Um…what did I miss?"

* * *

On the way back to Coruscant, Obi-Wan called ahead to request a disciplinary hearing for Ahsoka with the Jedi Council. Veers heard the story from her friend on the trip over, and felt sympathetic, and a little responsible for getting her friend in trouble.

If Veers's squadron hadn't had such a close shave, the incident might not have reflected so badly on Ahsoka.

Upon landing on Coruscant, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka headed straight to Council Chambers. Veers went back to her quarters, a room in a long corridor where all the Padawans stayed when not away on mission.

The Motien sat down on her bed, taking a deep breath and rolling her neck slowly. She had been distracted while she was on the mission, but now that she was back at Coruscant, her tension had returned.

Veers closed her eyes experimentally, accessing the Force again.

_Tayo looked up. He was kneeling on the ground, tending to a wounded woman. He made eye contact with Veers, his purple _ira _marks glowing with distress. "You're back!" he said, relief coloring his voice. "Veers, please…" his voice cracked slightly. "We need your help." _

Veers opened her eyes again, panic jolting through her.

This had been happening for the last few days. Every time she dreamt, every time she tried to meditate or channel the Force, the visions of Motia came back. The visions were never the same, which disturbed Veers. It made them seem real.

Her people were suffering.

Veers stood up, already restless. She'd had her first vision while en route to Felucia and hadn't had a chance to check up on Motia's current state. Now that she was back at the Temple, she had all the resources she needed and more.

On her way to the library, Veers saw a couple of the Jedi Masters on the Council heading in different directions. Ahsoka's hearing must have finished. Veers looked around curiously, wondering what type of punishment her friend was facing, but she didn't see the other Padawan anywhere.

Veers headed into the library, walking over to the archives database. She did a quick search, typing in "Motia," and watched the results.

_Separatists conquer Motia once more._

_Queen Atla begs Republic to Intervene._

One of the headlines in particular caught Veers's attention.

_With Queen Atla in poor health, Motia's fate is uncertain. _

Veers sat back in her chair, her heart racing. She could see the _ira _marks on her hand flaring in time with her heartbeat. _Poor health? What's wrong with her? _

Before Veers could do a more comprehensive search, Ahsoka's voice made her jump. "What are you looking at?" Veers started, turning around in surprise. She hadn't heard her friend approach.

The Motien waved her hand over the hologram, making her search disappear. If Ahsoka noticed Veers's secrecy, she didn't say anything.

"A little research," Veers said casually. She looked at Ahsoka curiously. "What are you doing here? How did the hearing go?" Ahsoka grimaced slightly.

"The hearing is why I'm here," she responded with a sigh. "I was assigned guard duty," she muttered, her shoulders slumping slightly. Veers winced sympathetically. She understood Ahsoka's frustration in being taken off the front lines. Though the circumstances had been different, Veers had had to take two extended leaves from fighting – first, after Rizak died and second, while recovering from the Blue Shadow virus.

"Sorry," Veers said. "How long for?" Ahsoka shrugged.

"They didn't say," she replied. "Anyways…I should get back. I just came over to tell you that Master Obi-Wan was looking for you." Veers nodded, sighing inwardly. It looked like her down time was being cut short.

"Thanks," she said, standing up. She shot a longing look back at the computer. "I'll go find him." Ahsoka nodded, and Veers waved to her friend as she headed back through the archives and out of sight. Veers walked in the opposite direction, out the doors. She was distracted as she walked, and she didn't notice Obi-Wan until she had almost run directly into him.

"Careful, Veers," Obi-Wan said, steadying his apprentice with a slight look of amusement. "I've been looking for you."

"Sorry, Master," Veers mumbled. Obi-Wan eyed his Padawan in confusion. It wasn't like her to be so distracted. Though Veers could be restless and impatient, she was usually laser-focused on whatever her current task at hand was.

"Is everything all right?" Veers couldn't meet her Master's eye. Her emotions were quite literally written all over her face, but she didn't want to discuss why she was upset. Part of her was in denial, and the other part was afraid of the unavoidable disapproval from the Jedi Council if she showed concern for her mother and home planet.

"Fine, Master," Veers replied. "Just…a little tired." Despite her fear for Motia and her people, Veers couldn't help but be curious as well. She wanted to see more. "I…think I'll go meditate, if you don't mind." Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow, curious. Veers never offered to meditate freely. Still, he waved his hand.

"Go ahead," he replied. Veers murmured a quiet thanks, heading back towards her quarters. It was quiet there, and she wouldn't be disturbed. Obi-Wan watched her go, frowning slightly.

"Master." Obi-Wan turned back around. Anakin was walking up to him. "Master Yoda wants to debrief about –" The Jedi Knight caught the look on Obi-Wan's face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Obi-Wan replied, cupping his chin thoughtfully as he glanced back at Veers's departing figure. "I have a feeling my Padawan is keeping secrets from me." Anakin's eyebrows rose.

"I'm not -" he began reflexively defending himself, thinking that Obi-Wan was referring to him. "Oh," Anakin said, following Obi-Wan's gaze. "Veers?" he asked, surprised as well. "Hm."

A thought occurred to Anakin, and he turned to Obi-Wan in mild alarm. "You don't think she found out about –" he broke off, unsure how to finish the sentence. Obi-Wan sighed.

"I hope not," the other man said, shaking his head. "But…it's a possibility."

* * *

_ "Tayo, I don't understand," Veers said. "What's going on?" The boy looked back at Veers sadly. He was sitting opposite from her now, alone. His hands were scraped up and bloody, like he'd been fighting. _

_ "We're losing, Veers," he said quietly. Veers cast her eyes around. They weren't alone in the chamber - the room was crowded with people. They looked scared, hungry, injured. Veers's heart ached. _

_ "What's wrong with my mother?" Veers asked quietly, turning back to Tayo. He sighed, his shoulders slumping. He shook his head regretfully._

_ "She is hanging on the best she can," he told Veers. He looked up at the princess, begging her quietly. "You have to come home, Veers. We need your help." The Jedi Padawan blinked slowly. _

_ "I…"_

_"Do you copy?" Veers frowned. It wasn't Tayo's voice speaking, it was Obi-Wan's. What was Obi-Wan doing here? Veers turned her head slightly, looking across the room. Noticing her distraction, Tayo stood up. _

_"Veers?" He asked. His eyes went wide, and his _ira _marks pulsed with distress. "Don't leave!" _

"Veers!" _Obi-Wan said again. The image around her was starting to fade. Tayo's voice was becoming quieter, harder to understand. "Do you copy?"_

Veers gasped, her eyes flying open as the image dissolved completely. With a shaking hand, Veers reached out to turn on her comm, sounding slightly breathless as she responded.

"I copy, Master. What's going on?"

_"There are intruders in the Temple," _Obi-Wan said. _"We believe they've entered through the South Tower, entering through the ventilation system." _Veers nodded to herself, standing up from her bed. She was little disoriented. The visions of Motia felt so real…

"I'm on my way," she said, grabbing her weapons and heading out the door. She turned the corner, racing through the corridors towards the South Tower. By the time she got there, Anakin and Obi-Wan were there as well. Obi-Wan disabled the force fields protecting the system against entry, leading the way into the vents.

Veers followed the two elder Jedi through the vents, her mind whirling. She barely noticed Obi-Wan and Anakin's conversation, and didn't realize they'd stopped moving until she once again bumped into Obi-Wan.

"Veers, what has gotten into you?" Obi-Wan asked, shaking his head at his Padawan. Veers lowered her head at the reprimand, trying to re-focus. Instead of waiting for her explanation, Obi-Wan turned on his radio.

"Master Yoda, we're at the communications center – the intruders aren't here. Are you picking up any other life signs in this quadrant?" There was a pause as the elderly Jedi considered.

_"Deep in the Temple, the intruders are," _he said at last. Obi-Wan frowned, shaking his head. This didn't make sense.

"How are they managing to stay out of our way?" he asked, shaking his head. The Jedi knew the Temple inside and out – it seemed impossible that an intruder would be able to evade them.

"_Possible it is, receiving assistance they are, from inside." _Obi-Wan groaned, exchanging a look with Anakin.

_"Wonderful," _Obi-Wan sighed. Veers leaned against the wall, still stewing absent-mindedly as Obi-Wan and Anakin discussed their next move. The Padawan kept running through her latest vision with Tayo, trying to convince herself that it was just a dream, not real.

But little things kept bothering Veers – like the fact that she had no idea what Tayo looked like now. She hadn't seen him in years. And yet, he didn't appear to her as the boy she knew. He looked like a young man.

And the fact that the scene kept changing. Her first vision Tayo had been alone in his room, meditating as though he'd been trying to reach her. Now, whenever Veers tried to access the Force, there he was – tending to a soldier, on a battlefield. The last time they'd spoken he'd been in a...refugee camp, maybe? Veers wasn't sure.

But it didn't make sense.

"Veers." The Padawan looked up, a guilty expression plastered across her face. It was clear to both Anakin and Obi-Wan that she hadn't been listening. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, once again surprised by how distracted his Padawan was. It was unlike her.

"Let's keep moving," he suggested, turning back the way they came. Veers made an effort to pay attention as they walked. When the three Jedi reached a fork in the path, Obi-Wan kept straight, heading for a different part of the Temple as opposed to back up to the exit.

Veers frowned, but she didn't question her Master. She was guessing Anakin and Obi-Wan had discussed the plan while she'd been lost in thought.

Obi-Wan stopped, looking down at the grate in front of him. It had been moved – someone had definitely come down this way. Anakin walked up to Obi-Wan, looking down the vent.

"Looks like you were right," he said, ducking into the vent. As Obi-Wan and Veers followed, Anakin's comm. link beeped and Ahsoka's voice filled the vent.

"_Master Skywalker," _Ahsoka began. "_I've captured the imposter disguised as a Jedi. She said the intruder's in the holocron vault." _Veers arched an eyebrow skeptically. Though this vent did lead into the holocron vault, a holocron would be largely useless to the average thief.

"A holocron is useless without a Jedi to open it," Obi-Wan said, speaking Veers's own thoughts. "What are they up to?" Anakin frowned, silently wondering the same thing. A thought occurred to him.

"They must be trying to gain access to the communications center through the vault," he realized. Obi-Wan nodded slowly.

"Let's get in there," he said, standing up and starting forwards once more. Veers followed rather unenthusiastically, trailing after the two elder Jedi. She kept quiet as they moved forwards as silently as possible, trying their best not to alert the intruder to their presence.

Obi-Wan glanced back at his Padawan, wondering if he should tell her to head back. It was clear that her mind wasn't in the right place to be engaging in any sort of altercation. Before he could decide, the three Jedi rounded the corner. The entrance to the vault was in front of them.

There was a loud beeping noise, and the vent shook ominously as a smoke bomb detonated, filling the corridor with cloudy steam. Obi-Wan pushed through, waving a hand in an attempt to dispel the smoke and clear his vison. The Jedi looked around.

There was no sign of any intruder, but there was a large hole that had been cut into the side of the wall. Obi-Wan pictured the Temple's blueprints – sure enough, the hole led to the passage connecting to the communications center. Anakin's assumption seemed correct.

"The communications center!" he said, alerting Anakin and Veers to his discovery as he pointed at the vault. "Quick, let's go!" He leapt through the hole, dropping into the corridor below.

The Jedi moved at a fast pace – the intruder clearly had a head start on them. Their only advantage was their forward-thinking. Masters Windu, Yoda, and Secura were all in the communications center.

Obi-Wan rounded the corner leading to the room first. He halted, seeing the shadow of the intruder in the vent in front of them – it was a small droid. The Jedi Master put his arm out, blocking Anakin and Veers from moving farther.

"…I was just testing out the entrance vault," the droid was saying, clearly attempting to not give away its master's goals. "Um…"

A loud beeping noise filled the air around them. Veers started, looking around for the source. The noise grew louder as the droid was shoved back into the vault, pinned up against the wall. Obi-Wan's eyes widened.

"Bomb!" he shouted, whirling around. Anakin reacted quickly, rounding the corner again for cover from the blast, but Veers hesitated. Her reaction time was a little slower than normal, but she snapped out of it in time to get around the corner.

The bomb exploded behind her, sending a wave of heat and smoke through the vent. The walls shook around Veers, and she grabbed onto the side to steady herself. She looked around – both Anakin and Obi-Wan appeared to be fine as well.

Veers glanced at Obi-Wan apprehensively. She hadn't really expected her distraction to be a problem, but clearly it was. Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes at his Padawan disapprovingly. He had noticed her slow reaction.

"Go back to your quarters," he told Veers. She hung her head, ashamed. Obi-Wan's face softened slightly. "It's been a long day, Veers," he said. "Get some rest."

* * *

**i'm sorry it's such a short chapter. i was going to write the rest of this arc in this chapter, but i kinda ran out of steam, and also couldn't figure out a smooth transition given that obi-wan and thus veers don't really appear in the second episode of this arc. **

**anyways, this contained a lot of set-up...hope you guys enjoyed it!**

**as always, please let me know what you think! i love any and all feedback!**


	5. Children of the Force

**It's been a hot minute...school is absolutely CRAZY, but I think things are (maybe) calming down. **

**To The-Book-Goblin: Hm, thank for you bringing this to my attention - my writing certainly makes it sound that way, though it was not my intention. ****To clarify, Motiens are a hyper-emotional, highly-intelligent/hardworking species. Given that, emotion and curiosity are common traits among Motiens. As for Force-sensitivity, I'm not saying that all Motiens are Force-Sensitive, they're just _slightly _more likely to be (sort of like the Miraluka). Veers, and the Motien Jedi before her, are _definitely _more Force-sensitive than the average Motien (most I would compare to Chirrut, maybe). **

**Veers's traits that Motiens don't share/are hers alone, I guess I haven't underlined as much. Two big ones are her recklessness and impatience. But anyways, thank you again for bringing this to my attention - I will definitely keep it in mind going forwards :)**

**To LukeKaiBlake: Thank you! And if you did draw her (no pressure to if you changed your mind tho) I'd love to see it!  
**

**To Austrian: Thank you! Sorry for the long wait!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.**

* * *

_Images of her war-stricken people plagued Veers. She looked around, horrified. How had the Jedi Order let the situation on Motia get this bad? __More importantly, how had _Veers_ herself let it get this bad? She was a Jedi, yes, but she was a princess of Motia and a servant to her people first._

_ "Veers." Someone whispered her name. The Motien turned her head. Tayo was standing next to her. It was his Force-sensitivity, coupled with their emotional attachment, that allowed them this connection. He had found her. Tayo beckoned her. "Come with me." _

_ The images of her peoples' strife disappeared as Veers focused on Tayo. The Force linked them together, and the scene around her shifted to where Tayo was at the present moment. _

_ Veers recognized the room as her mother's quarters immediately. Her heart pounded with fear as she moved closer towards the bed._

_ Queen Atla was lying still, her eyes closed. The rise and fall of her chese was faint, and her _ira _marks were terrifyingly pale, nearly translucent. Veers's throat closed up, and she instinctively reached a hand outward. _

_ She couldn't touch her mother; she wasn't there in corporeal form. Veers tore her eyes away from the woman and turned to Tayo. "How long?" Veers whispered. _

_ "I'm not sure," Tayo replied, his voice heavy. He looked at Veers beseechingly. "Come home. At least to say good-bye." Veers blinked rapidly. She wanted to – more than anything, she wanted to. It pained her to think that it would be the first – and last – time she would ever see her mother. _

_ But even that couldn't happen – the Jedi Council would never allow it. Already, Veers felt like she was betraying the code. She swallowed hard. "I – I have to go." Tayo looked up, alarmed. _

_ "Veers – " he began. _

The Motien blinked her eyes opening as she let her concentration dissolve. The images of Tayo and her mother faded, and she was once again alone in her quarters. Veers slumped against the metal wall of her dorm; the corners of her lips turned down despondently.

She felt conflicted. She wasn't sure if she should tell Obi-Wan about her visions her or not.

Veers felt a sudden, potent longing for Rizak. Had he still been her teacher, she would have told him without a second thought. But Veers had no idea how Obi-Wan would react to Veers's fierce longing to return home, a desire that went against the Jedi Code in so many ways.

A loud knocking on the door startled Veers. She stood up hastily, scrambling over to the other side of the room to open the door. She hit the button on the side, and Ahsoka stared back at her.

"Master Obi-Wan sent me to – are you okay?" Ahsoka asked apprehensively. Veers glanced to the side, catching sight of her reflection in the glass windows of the hallway. Although not strictly forbidden, mirrors were uncommon in the rooms of Padawans, as vanity was discouraged. They were typically found only in the shared freshers down the hall.

Given the lack of reflective surface, Veers had had no idea what she currently looked like. As she studied her face in the glass window, she winced. Her _ira _marks were bright magenta, as dark as they'd ever been with a mix of fear, anxiety, guilt, and indecision. They pulsated conspicuously, starkly obvious against her pale skin. Her hair, falling out of the two buns she kept it piled into, looked tangled and unkempt.

Veers groaned, her hands flying to her hair. She undid the leather bands that kept her locks in place, desperately running her fingers through the knots.

"Am I late for something?" she asked Ahsoka warily. Obi-Wan was somewhat strict about appearances and given that Veers had been in the Temple for an extended period of time, she had no excuse for looking disheveled. Ahsoka shook her head.

"No – I need to clean up as well. I'll catch you up on the way." Veers breathed a silent sigh of relief, grateful for her friend. As the two girls walked down the hall to the refresher, Ahsoka told Veers what had happened.

Anakin and Ahsoka had lost Bane – they'd thought he had died on the ship, but he had been impersonating a trooper and managed to escape when they boarded the Resolute. Anakin had been coerced into opening the holocron for Bane under the threat of Ahsoka's death, and now Bane had the locations of the future members of the Jedi Order.

"Our Masters are trying to find which children he is targeting," Ahsoka said seriously. Veers listened intently as she combed out her damp hair, separating the dark brown locks into three sections. As usual, she twisted the two largest sections into buns on the top of her head, and then braided the last, much smaller, section into a skinny tail that hung behind her ear. The simple action of braiding her now clean hair was soothing, and she felt herself relaxing as she did so.

Watching her friend do her hair, Ahsoka self-consciously reached up to touch the back of her head. Veers tracked Ahsoka's motion, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"What happened to your braid?" Veers asked. Though Ahsoka had no hair, she always wore a braid of silka beads to mark her status as a Jedi Padawan. Ahsoka's face clouded.

"Bane took it," she muttered. Veers grimaced sympathetically. The braid was a source of pride for a Padawan. To lose it, especially to an enemy, felt dishonorable.

After washing and putting on a clean uniform, Veers felt much calmer. Her _ira _marks had paled slightly, reflecting that. Ahsoka changed clothes as well, taking off the long-sleeved shirt she'd been wearing to combat the chill of space and putting back on her usual clothing. Ahsoka appraised Veers.

"You _look _better," the Togrutan female said, putting emphasis on the word _look._"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Veers considered.

"Not yet," she said at last, with a slow exhale. Ahsoka shrugged slowly, not wanting to push her friend. The two Padawans left the dormitory, heading back to the main part of the Temple to meet their instructors.

Obi-Wan and Anakin were waiting for them.

"Veers," Obi-Wan said. "We are off to Rodia." The Motien blinked, a little surprised.

"Yes, Master," she replied obediently, nodding a good-bye at Anakin and Ahsoka and following Obi-Wan through the Temple. She fiddled with the cuff around her wrist absent-mindedly, a nervous habit of hers. The action that did not go unnoticed by Obi-Wan. He eyed his Padawan suspiciously.

"Veers," he said sternly. "You understand the severity of this situation." She nodded. "We will be taking our starfighters to Rodia," he continued. "I need your head in this mission completely, or else you should stay behind." Veers started.

"I'm fine, Master," she said as reassuringly as possible. "I promise." Obi-Wan didn't answer, but he didn't send her away either. The two Jedi reached the hangar. Obi-Wan had clearly called ahead, as some of the Temple workers were prepping their starfighters.

Before heading over to her ship, Veers walked over to the astromech station. Obi-Wan quickly found his droid, R4-P17. He turned the astromech on and she woke up with a whir. Veers looked at the line of droids absently.

As with all Jedi Padawan, Veers had learned to pilot a starfighter early on, but it was never something she had _particularly_ excelled at. Veers wasn't a bad pilot by any means, but she didn't care for it as much as some of her fellow trainees did. As such, she'd never felt the need to rely on a singular astromech droid as many Jedi were apt to do, and usually just borrowed one from the Temple.

She scanned the line of droids – she typically preferred R4 units. However, her search stopped as her gaze fell on a droid she hadn't seen in a while, and a sad smile curved onto her lips.

Rizak, a brilliant pilot, _had _had an astromech companion: R3-K8, whom Rizak had nicknamed "Bait" given the droid's propensity for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and attracting attention from the enemy.

Rizak had often scolded the droid for getting in the way, but both Veers and R3-K8 knew that Rizak had indeed been fond of the astromech. After all, there had been a more than a few unfortunate incidents that resulted in Rizak having to rebuild it – and yet he included the exact same programming.

"Hey, Bait," Veers murmured, mostly to herself. She placed her hand on the translucent dome of the droid. The astromech had a matte black body with bright green markings, and a clear head that showed the inner mechanics of the dome. Veers disconnected it from the power source and turned the droid on.

R3-K8 came on with a whir, the red light of its sensor flicking on. The droid swiveled its head around and caught sight of Veers. The droid let out an excited beep, rolling over to the Padawan. It paused in front of her, beeping sadly.

"I know," Veers said in response with a sigh, rubbing the droid's dome. "I miss him, too. You feel like helping me?" R3-K8 beeped affirmatively, rolling out ahead of Veers and leading the way over to her starfighter. The Motien laughed.

One of the workers helped get R3-K8 mounted on the ship, and Veers climbed the ladder to lower herself into her seat. The ship closed over her head, and she put her headset on, connecting to the same channel that Obi-Wan had.

"_Veers, do you copy?" _

"I copy, Master," Veers responded, placing her hands on the controls. "I'm ready."

There was a loud whir as their starfighters began to power up. Veers powered on the thrusters, her eyes narrowed in concentration as ship rose into the air. It had been a while, and she was relieved to see that she hadn't forgetten how to fly. Veers followed Obi-Wan out of the hangar doors. They flew over Coruscant's skyline, high enough above the traffic that they wouldn't disrupt the flow.

Veers was glad that they were flying themselves. Since piloting a ship was not an area of expertise for her, she had to focus on it solely. There was no room left in her thoughts for stewing over Motia or her mother's condition.

Obi-Wan and Veers carefully maneuvered their ships into the hyperspace transport rings. "Bait, lock us in," Veers said, glancing on both sides to make sure she had enough space. R3-K8 beeped affirmatively, taking control of the hyperspace ring and joining it to Veers ship.

"_Prepare to jump to hyperspace," _Obi-Wan ordered his Padawan, flying out slightly in front of her.

"I'm ready," Veers replied, switching on the controls. Obi-Wan didn't respond verbally, but his ship disappeared ahead of her. Once Obi-Wan had jumped to hyperspace, Veers prepped her ship. She could hear the whir of the starfighter as it stored power to prepare for lightspeed.

After a moment, the ship picked up speed rapidly, leaving Coruscant far behind. Veers turned her radar on, scanning the screen to make sure she didn't stray off-course. It didn't take her long to reach Rodia, and she exited hyperspace.

Obi-Wan had detached from his transport ring, and Veers flicked the control to do the same. The two Jedi left the rings floating behind them as they descended through the atmosphere and landed on the planet's surface.

Veers hopped out of her starfighter, following Obi-Wan through the crowd. He seemed to know where he was going, and she made sure to stick closely to her instructor.

After winding through the city for a few moments, Obi-Wan paused in front of a house. He knocked on the door, leaning against it impatiently. After a moment, the door slid open a crack. A Rodian woman peered out, her gaze hostile. It was Mahtee Dunn, the mother of Wee Dunn.

"If you're looking for my son, Jedi," the woman spat. "He's not here."

"Where is he?" Obi-Wan demanded urgently, leaning forward. The door was already sliding shut once more. Veers leaned closer, hearing the crying of a child. She exchanged a glance with Obi-Wan, and it was clear her teacher had heard the same thing. "Open the door!"

When the woman didn't comply, Obi-Wan took a step back, using the Force to slide the door open. He walked into the house, looking around. Veers hung back, and her _ira _marks pulsed in shock as she realized that the Rodian was pointing a blaster at Obi-Wan.

"Master!" she cried out. Obi-Wan saw the blaster at the same time she did and paused.

"You'll never get him!" the Rodian cried, her voice shaking. Veers noticed with a start that her eyes seemed distant, like she was dazed. Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed, and he waved a hand through the air.

"Where is the bounty hunter?" he demanded. Mahtee blinked slowly, her eyes clearing. The blaster fell to her side as she touched her head.

"Bounty hunter?" she repeated, confusion coloring her voice. "He…was a Jedi." Obi-Wan frowned in disapproval, pulling the blaster towards him with the Force.

"Jedi do _not _carry blasters." Mahtee gazeed off into the distance, her error becoming clear to her.

"What have I done?" the woman whispered, distraught. Veers took a step forward into the house. As the sound of a child crying reached her ears, she glanced to the side.

Bane was standing there, dressed in a Jedi cloak. He had the child in his arms. As Veers made eye-contact with him, he smirked and pressed a button on his gauntlet. Small jets turned on the bottom of his boots, making him hover in the air.

Without thinking, Veers charged at him.

"Veers!" Obi-Wan shouted as Bane took off, using the blasters on his shoes to fly through the air. "_Veers!"_

As usual, she ignored him. She leapt after Bane, wrapping her hands around one of his ankles. The fire coming from the bottom of his boots singed her wrists through her sleeves, and she grimaced.

Bane snarled at her in irritation, struggling to shake her loose. The added weight of a nearly full grown Motien significantly slowed his ascent. Still, the bounty hunter made it to the nearby rooftop, kicking Veers to the ground as he landed and raced for his ship.

Veers landed in a crouch and sprang up in a single movement. She ran at the starfighter, leaping onto the top of the ship. Her fingers caught fruitlessly at the edge of the cockpit's glass cover, but she was too late to stop it from closing.

Bane piloted his starfighter into the air, and Veers hung on stubbornly, her _ira _marks showing her indignation. There was a familiar whistle – Bane was entering hyperspace, a daring feat considering how low to ground they were.

"Veers, let _go!" _Obi-Wan's order came from below her.

Veers grit her teeth stubbornly, disobeying. She struggled to get a better grip on the starfighter as she fumbled for her lightsaber, wondering faintly if she could destroy the hyperdrive.

_"Veers!" _

Whipping her head around, Veers glared down at the ground resentfully. She loosened her grip, twisting through the air to land on the ground in a neat crouch. No sooner than had she stood up did the starfighter jump into hyperspace, disappearing within seconds.

Obi-Wan stepped up to his Padawan. Her _ira _marks were high in color, indicating her mood. Obi-Wan felt just as frustrated as she, but he was also disappointed in her actions. As usual, she had leapt headfirst into her plan without a moment's thought. But this recklessness felt different to Obi-Wan – less poorly-thought out and more _destructive._

First her distraction at the Temple, now this. He shook his head.

"Veers," Obi-Wan scolded her, his tone severe. "_How _many times have I told you – "

"I had him!" she snapped, rounding on her instructor. Her _ira _marks flared, first with her anger and then her embarrassment as her reaction caught up to her. The impudent words had left her mouth before she'd fully processed them.

Obi-Wan fell silent, staring at his Padawan in disbelief. Veers liked to push back at times, but she was never blatantly disrespectful. She shied away from his shocked gaze, ducking her head in shame. "I – sorry, Master," she mumbled, her bravado gone. Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Let's go."

* * *

Veers leaned against her starfighter, twisting the cuff around her wrist absent-mindedly. She felt ashamed of her outburst at Obi-Wan and knew full-well that it had been uncalled for and disrespectful. Her _ira _marks flickered with guilt at the memory.

Obi-Wan had sent Veers back to the starfighters to wait for him. He returned to speak with Wee Dunn's mother to try and gain any information she might have about Cad Bane. Veers knew it was fruitless – not only was Bane too careful, but Mahtee Dunn was too distraught to be of any help.

Veers cringed again, recalling Obi-Wan's anger towards her.

_"Go wait at the fighters," Obi-Wan ordered his Padawan. "I'll be there shortly." _

_ "What are you going to do?" Veers asked quietly, her gaze focused on the ground. _

_ "I'm going to speak with Mahtee Dunn," he replied. "She may know something." As they walked closer to the house, Veers could hear the broken sobs coming from inside the hut. She winced sympathetically, her _ira _marks flaring in reaction to the raw emotion flowing off the woman._

_ "I can help you," she offered, eager to appease her error. "Calm her down – "_

"No, _Veers_,"_ Obi-Wan replied curtly. "Do as I say."_

Next to Veers, R4-P17 let out a series of beeps. Veers turned around, recognizing that the droid was attempting to get her attention. Once she'd turned, the droid played a transmission. A hologram of Anakin and Ahsoka appeared in front of Veers.

_ "Master, we've – Veers?" _Anakin's voice was colored in surprise when he realized Obi-Wan wasn't the one answering his call. He assessed Veers, taking in her despondent face, and assumed the worst. _"Is Obi-Wan alright?" _Anakin asked urgently.

"Oh – yes," Veers responded quickly. "He's questioning Mahtee Dunn." Veers looked away, unable to meet the other Jedi's eye. "I, uh. I lost Bane. And the child." Ahsoka looked at her friend sympathetically.

"_We'll find the children," _Anakin reassured the younger Jedi. "_Ahsoka and I have Bane. We're rendezvousing with Master Windu onboard the cruiser." _Veers nodded.

"I'll let Master Kenobi know," she replied. Anakin dipped his head in gratitude, and the hologram vanished. Behind her, Veers could hear footsteps approaching. She turned around to see Obi-Wan heading towards her.

"Master Skywalker and Ahsoka caught Bane," she told Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master let out a sigh of relief.

"Good," he replied. "Let's go." Veers climbed into her starfighter, switching the engine back on. R3-K8 turned around, beeping at Veers in a worried manner. The Padawan ducked her head.

"I'm fine," she muttered, embarrassed. She let out a deep sigh. "Let's just get out of here."

Veers piloted her starfighter off of the landing platform, following Obi-Wan back through the atmosphere and into deep space. The two Jedi picked up their hyperspace rings and plotted the course for Master Windu's cruiser. "Bait, plot an intercept," Veers requested her droid co-pilot.

The astromech beeped affirmatively, plugging the coordinates of Master Windu's cruiser into the starfighter's system. The droid's mechanics ran the numbers and then spat out an intercept range through hyperspace. Veers plugged it in to her navigation system.

"Ready, Master," Veers said.

"_Good." _Obi-Wan's starfighter made the jump to hyperspace, and Veers followed closely behind. It only took a few moments for them to reach the cruiser, and the two fighters exited hyperspace. Obi-Wan had called ahead to tell Master Windu they were on their way, so the hangar doors opened for them as the two Jedi flew closer.

Anakin and Ahsoka had beaten them there. When Veers and Obi-Wan stepped out of their starfighters, the two other Jedi were shepherding a handcuffed Bane out of the hangar. Master Windu stood aside, watching Bane coldly.

"Kenobi," the elder Master greeted Obi-Wan as he and Veers walked up. "Bane took Wee Dun?" Veers hung her head, expecting Obi-Wan to inform Master Windu of her behavior. To her surprise, Obi-Wan left the details out.

"Most unfortunately so," Obi-Wan agreed. He nodded after Bane. "Has he said anything?" Veers blinked in surprise, her _ira _marks flickering. She let out a silent breath, her shoulders relaxing ever-so-slightly.

"Not yet," Master Windu replied. "That's our job." Obi-Wan nodded, and Master Windu walked away, Obi-Wan and Veers following. As soon as the elder Jedi was out of earshot, Veers turned towards her instructor.

"Master?" she asked quietly. Obi-Wan glanced at his Padawan expectantly. "Does this mean you aren't going to tell the Council?" She spoke timidly, concerned that Master Windu would overhear, but she was too curious and wary of his answer to not ask. Obi-Wan paused, and Veers stopped as well.

"No," he said finally. Veers's shoulders slumped, and Obi-Wan continued. "Not _yet._" He turned around, continuing back down the hallway. She walked after him, and Obi-Wan spoke, "You cannot dwell on your mistakes, young one," he told her. "Focus on the task at hand. We will speak later."

"Yes, Master," Veers mumbled.

When the two Jedi caught up to Master Windu, Anakin and Ahsoka were departing from the cell and heading back the way they'd come from, towards the hangar. As they passed each other, Ahsoka shot her fellow Padawan a look. Her forehead creased in concern at Veers's unhappy expression and bright _ira _marks.

_'Everything okay?' _Ahsoka mouthed at her friend. Veers shrugged, and Ahsoka smiled sympathetically at her friend.

"Veers." The Motien snapped her head back to face her instructor. Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest. "Master Windu and I will be interrogating Bane. You are _not _to speak to him, do you understand?" Veers nodded hastily, once again fiddling with the cuff on her wrist. Recognizing his Padawan's nervous habit, Obi-Wan's face softened slightly.

"This is not a punishment," he clarified. "I need you to observe him. Use your senses – be astute. Don't be distracted by asking him questions. Master Windu and I will handle that."

Veers nodded again and followed Obi-Wan and Master Windu towards the interrogation room. The laser screen door turned off, and the three Jedi walked into the cell. The door reactivated behing them with a hiss.

As she'd been instructed, Veers stood silently by the door, observing. The two Jedi Masters walked farther into the cell, pacing around Bane in an intimidating manner. Veers focused her eyes on the bounty hunter.

It was a struggle to focus on Bane and not remember her mistake. Still, she honed her senses into the Force and –

_"Veers! Are you back?" _

Veers blinked, grimacing as she broke the connection with Tayo. Even as the connection broke, she could sense his frustration with her for a beat longer. It was getting stronger, and she didn't know why.

But she did know she couldn't use the Force, not without getting distracted by her friend. Which was frustrating - she felt blind without the Force. Frustrated, Veers glared at the ground, baring her sharp teeth at an unseen enemy.

"We know you have taken at least two children," Obi-Wan said to Bane. His tone was ominous, threatening, and Veers looked back up. "Where are they?"

"Beyond your reach," Bane growled in response. Master Windu had been circling the table, and he came to a stop at Bane's side. The bounty hunter kept his gaze forward, feigning indifference.

"Who are you working for?" The Jedi Master demanded. Bane's voice was cold.

"I work alone."

Veers arched an eyebrow. The statement was uncharacteristic of a bounty hunter, a clear lie. All bounty hunters cared about was money; it was unlikely that Bane had decided to steal Jedi children for the _fun _of it.

Obi-Wan frowned, straightening up. Bane didn't move, keeping his fingers laced coolly together in front of him. His movements were still, and his body language betrayed no emotion.

"It's only a matter of time before we locate the holocron," Obi-Wan reminded Bane. "Make it easier on yourself." Bane scoffed, the sound short and mocking.

"What are you going to do, _Jedi? _Torture me?" He seemed almost amused by this prospect.

Veers frowned. She sensed something beneath his carefully constructed mask. Motiens were more sensitive to the emotions of others, and she channeled her concentration. To her relief and surprise, no vision of Tayo appeared. Veers quickly realized it was because she wasn't tapping into the Force. She was using her natural Motien ability.

Bane's emotion became clear to Veers, and her _ira _marks flickered in response to her surprise.

"He's afraid," Veers murmured, almost reflexively. Obi-Wan and Windu's eyes snapped to her, and she lowered her head in embarrassment, remembering Obi-Wan's order.

"Afraid of whom?" Windu asked the Padawan. She looked up in surprise. She'd expected to be chastised for her interruption. Obi-Wan gave his Padawan a reassuring nod, and she blinked, re-focusing. There was a beat, and then she shook her head in confusion.

"Not of us." Windu and Obi-Wan exchanged a look, putting the pieces together.

"Hm," Windu said, not turning to look at Bane. "It seems that the fear of whoever you work for outweighs your fear of us."

Veers watched Bane closely. Sure enough, his physical façade dropped at Windu's words. The bounty hunter's face went slack with surprise, and his shoulders tensed up briefly. His body language confirmed Windu's assumption.

"This conversation is over," Bane hissed lowly, turning away. He leaned back in his chair, casting his face into the shadows of the room. Veers watched him closely, the darkness not quite enough to obscure the sudden tension in his posture.

To Veers's surprise, the Jedi Masters obeyed Bane. She followed them out of the small cell, glancing behind her curiously. Bane was certainly on edge _now, _but he still wasn't willing to talk.

Who _was _he working for?

Approaching footsteps made Veers break away from her thoughts. She turned back around. Anakin and Ahsoka were walking through the door opposite Veers and the Jedi Masters.

"Skywalker," Master Windu greeted the Jedi Knight. "I hope you have some good news." Anakin grimaced in response.

"We tore the ship apart," he said with a regretful shake of his head. Now Veers understood why they'd returned to the hangar - they'd been searching Bane's ship. "No sign of the holocron – or the kids." Windu frowned. It was surprising that Bane had managed to leave the children somewhere without being noticed within the short amount of time.

"Did you check the ships navigation records?" Windu asked, glancing at Ahsoka. The Padawan straightened up.

"They were wiped clean before he landed on Naboo," she replied. In other words, they were at a dead end. Anakin turned towards the cell, looking at their prisoner appraisingly.

"We'll just have to use the Force to _make _him talk," Anakin said. Veers frowned.

"He wasn't exactly in a…conversational mood," she murmured. "He's not _just _scared, he's proud. That's not exactly an easy combination to break." Ahsoka rubbed her chin thoughtfully, considering Veers's words.

"Maybe if we all concentrated on his mind together?" She ventured. Obi-Wan frowned, turning away slightly as he considered this. It could work, but…

"Using the Force to compel a strong mind to cooperate is…_risky." _Master Windu nodded in agreement.

"There is a danger that his mind would be destroyed in the process." Anakin shrugged. Despite this warning, his eyes were bright and unbothered. If anything, he looked enthused at the prospect of getting information, no matter the cost.

"Well," he pointed out. "Do we have another choice?"

Master Windu and Obi-Wan exchanged a glance. The elder Jedi Master nodded slightly, agreeing to the plan, and Obi-Wan sighed. The three Jedi walked back into the cell, the two Padawans trailing after their Masters quietly.

Ahsoka and Veers stood in the back of the cell. Neither of them were experienced enough to significantly contribute to the interrogation, but like before they were meant to observe.

Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Windu fanned out in a line in front of Bane. He eyed them suspiciously, and Anakin put his hand out.

"You _will _take us to the holocron," the Jedi Knight commanded the bounty hunter. As she studied him, Veers felt the rush of glee surge through Bane, and the man smiled mockingly.

"Jedi mind tricks don't work on me," he growled. Obi-Wan put his hand up as well, and he and Anakin spoke together.

"You _will _take us to the holocron." Veers blinked in surprise, a feeling of unease growing in her. Despite not being on the receiving end, she could feel the strength of the Force. Could Bane really resist?

The bounty hunter hesitated, swaying for a moment. Then, leaning back, "Forget it!"

"You _will _take us to the holocron." Now Master Windu added his persuasion to the mix. Bane began to hyperventilate, his anxiety becoming clear. He whipped his head back and forth as though trying to shake them from his mind physically.

"No," he gasped.

"And you will take us _now!" _Master Windu's voice echoed through the Force. Bane went still, his pupiless red eyes glazing over.

"I will take you…" Bane began to repeat absent-mindedly. Then his expression cleared. "No!" He shouted. "Get out of my head!"

The Duros began to scream wordlessly, thrashing back and forth in his chair. Veers flinched back, and she and Ahsoka exchanged a look of wide-eyed horror. The bounty hunter wailed again, and the three Jedi simultaneously dropped their hands and concentration.

The connection broke, and Bane slumped forward, panting. Anakin looked from the other Jedi back to Bane. Despite the toll it had taken on Bane, the Jedi were entirely unbothered.

"Perhaps we should try _again." _

"No!" Bane put his hand up. His chest was heaving as he spoke reluctantly. "I've had enough of that. I'll take you to the holocron…you'll get your _children _back."

* * *

"The Chancellor wants a report on our progress," Master Windu told Obi-Wan and Anakin. Veers and Ahsoka walked a respectful distance behind the elder Jedi. One of the first things a Padawan learned was to instinctively gauge situations they were meant to stay out of. This conversation, even in a public place such as the ship, was one of those.

Still, that didn't stop the two teenagers from overhearing it. Ahsoka and Veers exchanged a glance. In a wordless agreement of mild rebellion and curiosity, the two girls picked up their pace by half a step in order to stay in earshot.

"Tell him this is not Republic business," Obi-Wan replied. "It's an internal Jedi affair."

"I'm sorry to disagree," Anakin said. The three Jedi came to a halt, and Ahsoka and Veers stopped a few meters behind them. "But as long as the Jedi are acting as a military, we should report to the Chancellor. Even on internal manners." Obi-Wan smiled slightly, looking amused. He put his hand on his former Padawan's shoulder.

"Well then. I guess you just volunteered to go. Give the Chancellor my regards." Anakin rolled his eyes.

"Now, wait a minute –" he said, reaching out to grab Obi-Wan's arm as the older man pulled away.

"I agree," Master Windu said, turning to follow Obi-Wan. "Report back here when you're finished." Veers murmured a good-bye to Ahsoka, quickening her pace to catch up with Obi-Wan. Anakin watched the three go in concern.

"This could be a trap, Master," he said, his brow furrowed in concern. "You sure you don't need us to go?" Master Windu looked back, amusement clear on his face.

"Of course it's a trap, Skywalker," Windu replied, unconcerned. Obi-Wan turned back to look at his former Padawan.

"I will contact you when we find the children," he reassured Anakin. Ahsoka frowned.

"What if they don't find those kids?" she asked. Her gaze was focused on Veers's departing form. Even from the distance, Ahsoka could clearly make out the bright color of the _ira _marks on her friend's fingers. It was clear that Veers was still bothered about something – likely the same something that she hadn't wanted to talk about earlier.

The other Padawan had just seemed so _distracted. _Ahsoka didn't want her friend getting hurt – or worse.

"They will, Snips," Anakin replied reassuringly. He looked at his Padawan carefully. "What's really bothering you?" Ahsoka started slightly, looking at her instructor. Sometimes she forgot how well Anakin knew her.

"Veers has been…off, lately," Ahsoka replied guiltily, feeling like she was betraying her friend. Anakin frowned. Veers's behavior hadn't escaped his notice either.

"Veers will be fine," he replied. "Obi-Wan won't let anything happen to her." Ahsoka mulled this over. It was true…but what if Obi-Wan wasn't _there? _Veers had the reckless tendency to run off on her own.

"Come on," Anakin said, turning around. "Have faith, little one. We still have a job to do." Ahsoka nodded, casting one last look at her friend. Veers disappeared into the ship, vanishing from Ahsoka's view.

"Yes, Master."

* * *

Veers sat down in the bridge of the chip, in between Cody and Bane. Obi-Wan and Master Windu were in the pilot and co-pilot's seat, respectively. Bane was behind them, fittingly in the navigator's seat.

"The coordinates," Master Windu demanded, looking back at Bane. The bounty hunter blinked.

"The coordinates…" he repeated slowly. "Yes. Six-seven-three-one-one-seven cross seven-R-B-seven-one." Obi-Wan frowned, picturing a map of the galaxy in his head.

"That will take us into the far Outer Rim," he said suspiciously. "Neutral space." Bane shrugged.

"Do you want your holocron and your kids or not?"

Master Windu and Obi-Wan exchanged a glance, and then Master Windu nodded. Obi-Wan plugged in the coordinates, and Windu prepped the engine. The ship jumped to hyperspace, leaving the cruiser far behind.

Veers looked at Bane carefully, her eyebrows pressed together in concern. His cold, indifferent exterior was back in place, but she could sense something else too. He felt defeated, that much was for sure. But he also seemed triumphant about something.

It was a trap; the Jedi had gleaned that much. Perhaps he was just triumphant thinking that _they _didn't know it was a trap. Veers sighed inaudibly, leaning back into her seat. Even through hyperspace, the trip would be longer than usual, given how far away it was. She let her eyes close and began to focus on her breathing - not exactly meditating, but trying to clear her thoughts as much as she could.

"We're approaching," Obi-Wan warned Windu, snapping Veers out of her thoughts. The elder Jedi nodded, deactivating the hyperdrive.

The ship came out of hyperspace just before an asteroid field. Obi-Wan carefully maneuvered the ship through the floating rocks. Among the asteroids was a space station, one of Bane's hideouts.

Obi-Wan pulled up next to the station, carefully docking the ship to it. The three Jedi got up, and Cody pulled Bane to his feet. Windu took the bounty hunter by the arm, leading him forward. Veers and Obi-Wan followed behind, and when they got to the door Obi-Wan glanced back.

"We'll be fine, Cody," he said. "Stay here and watch the ship."

"Yes, sir," the commander replied. "I'll keep the ship running."

The door slid shut behind them, separating the three Jedi and the bounty hunter from the ship. Veers fought back a shudder. Something about this station was giving her a feeling of unease.

It was quiet – eerily so. The only sound as Bane led them deeper into the station was the hum of the life support system. And there was a strangely empty feeling about it, but Veers couldn't quite put her finger on why…

Before she could mull over this for much longer, Obi-Wan spoke. "I don't sense the children anywhere," he commented, frowning as the doors to a lift closed behind them.

"Neither do I," Windu agreed, and Veers nodded slowly. _That _was why it felt empty.

Obi-Wan's scowl deepened, stalking up to Bane as the lift came to a halt.

"Where are you keeping the children?" he demanded. Bane turned away, scowling.

"The children are safe," he muttered, avoiding the question. Veers frowned. Something was _definitely _wrong. "But first…" he jutted his chin behind them. "Your precious holocron." Veers followed his gaze. The cube was across the room, glowing in the darkness. The bounty hunter started forwards. "Let me get it for you," he offered. Windu caught his shoulder, tugging him back.

"No more of your tricks," the Jedi Master growled. He stepped off of the lift, and immediately there was a loud beeping noise. An alarm began to blare, and blasters descended from the ceiling, locking onto the three Jedi. Windu grit his teeth. "Blast!"

"You certainly stepped in it this time," Obi-Wan said. His tone was rather jovial considered their predicament. Master Windu flipped backwards, landing on a ledge behind him. His purple lightsaber flashed through the air as he began to deflect the blaster fire.

Veers unsheathed her weapons, the blue and green glow shining across her face as she sliced them through the air.

The Motien leapt backwards as a beam cut through the ground in front of her. It wasn't just blaster fire, there were lasers cutting the station apart. This was a self-destruct measure, a failsafe protection.

"So long, _Jedi." _Bane's sing-song sneer came from across the room. Veers whipped her head around. The bounty hunter had managed to get to an escape pod.

Veers started towards their enemy, but a laser cut across her path, making her leap back in order to avoid being sliced apart. By the time she had maneuvered her way around it, Bane was in the escape pod.

Once again, she was too late.

Gritting her teeth, Veers side-stepped another laser. She kept her movements small but purposeful, trying to avoid using the Force. She was afraid that if she accessed it, she would see Motia again and become distracted. If she became distracted here and now, the consequences could be grave, even deadly.

"I've got the holocron!" Obi-Wan called. Veers looked up briefly, seeing her instructor darting through the lasers to reach the closing door – their only exit. Veers narrowed her eyes.

The Motien whirled around, instinctively dodging the laser behind her. She leapt through the sweeping beams, her footsteps swift and light. As she flipped forwards with too much precision, Tayo's face swam before her vision.

A shock of pain brought Veers back to the present moment, and she rolled forwards, sliding under the closing door. She gripped her bicep in an instinctive reaction to the pain, and her hand came away soaked with magenta blood.

Grimacing, Veers sprinted down the hallway after Obi-Wan. She could hear Master Windu behind her, the man's longer legs bringing him closer to her with every step. By the time the two of them reached the ship, he had caught up with her.

"Anytime, Cody!" Obi-Wan yelled to the commander sitting in the pilot's seat.

The clone didn't respond verbally, but the ship's engine powered up with a hum. Cody detached them from the station, piloting the ship away just in time.

The resounding explosion rocked the starship, making Veers slide across the ground. She crashed into the wall, grunting slightly as the movement jostled her bad arm. She braced her back against the wall, holding onto her wound again as she planted her feet.

Cody regained control of the ship, and Veers relaxed slightly. She straightened up again, and Obi-Wan turned to look at his Padawan in concern.

He could see the blood staining her shirt, the viscous liquid bright against Veer's hand. His Padawan looked up at him, her expression almost guilty.

"It's not that bad," she said quickly.

"There should be a medical droid aboard," Obi-Wan replied. "Go get it checked out." Veers nodded, disappearing from the bridge. Master Windu looked after the Padawan curiously, before glancing at the other Jedi Master.

"Is your Padawan alright?" he asked. Obi-Wan knew that the other Master didn't mean physically. Veers had been acting erratically; even those who didn't know her _well _were noticing.

"You know how Veers can be," Obi-Wan replied, skirting around the question. He didn't want to give Master Windu a reason to think the Council should have a problem with Veers, not until he'd spoken to her. "She'll be fine."

Down the hallway, Veers had powered on the medical droid. It had cleaned her wound quickly and was now suturing it together. It wasn't worse than the cut she'd received from Ventress's lightsaber. The Padawan glanced down at the old injury, now a shiny pink scar across the palm of her hand. It had healed quickly; this one would as well.

The wound was largely superficial, but it shouldn't have happened. Unease rose in Veers. Her thoughts whirled around in her head, panic clouding her mind.

She couldn't use the Force without seeing Motia, without seeing Tayo begging her to come home. If she returned, maybe the visions would stop.

But how could she return? The Council would never allow it. They would think she was too attached, and attachment was unfit for a Jedi.

But if she couldn't return, then the visions would continue. And if the visions continued, she couldn't use the Force, not without becoming a liability on the battlefield. If she couldn't use the Force, how could she be a Jedi?

Even as all these questions arose, Veers knew the one that she really needed to answer, the question that would answer everything.

How long could she go before telling Obi-Wan she _needed _to return home?

* * *

**alright righty-dighty...**

**here it is. i hope i'm not laying some of this stuff on too thick...**

**anyways, yeah. here is the conclusion to the holocron arc. i hope it's not too bad! i kinda sped through the editing cuz i was excited to FINALLY post something, but yeah! **

**please let me know what you think in a review! i love to hear all your feedback!**


	6. Landing at Point Rain

**To Guest: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.**

**To The-Library-Garden: I've bene gone a while too, oops! But I hope you enjoy this ****chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Clone Wars.**

* * *

_**Counterattack! With the clone army stretched in desperate attempt to engage General Grievous' Starfleet, Separatists planets that were once thought secure are now rising up against the Republic. On Geonosis, Separatist leader Poggle the Lesser, safe in his newly ray-shielded factories, creates thousands of terrible new weapons which march off the assembly line against the outnumbered clone army. The Jedi, resolute in the effort to restore order to the Republic, mount a massive invasion to retake Geonosis and shut down Poggle's factories once and for all...**_

The ship hovered over Geonosis. From their height up in space, it was impossible to tell that the planet was being ravaged by war below, and the sight was honestly beautiful.

"I cannot believe we're back here again," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head in disbelief. Veers fought back a smile, recalling the stories she'd been told of Obi-Wan and Anakin's first experience on Geonosis, back when Anakin was just a Padawan himself. In hindsight, the stories were quite amusing.

"It is unfortunate," Master Mundi agreed, nodding his head gravely. "The resistance from the native Genosians was stronger than we anticipated."

"The same can be said for their loyalty to Count Dooku," Obi-Wan added.

"A fact that is often overlooked." Veers turned her head at the sound of the _swishing _of the doors. Ahsoka and Anakin were walking onto the bridge, arguing with one another. Veers smiled slightly.

"You're late," Obi-Wan chastised his former Padawan as Anakin walked up next to him. Anakin smiled easily, shrugging his shoulders.

"Sorry, Master," Anakin said jovially. "Ahsoka and I were busy routing the Seppies near Dorin." Ahsoka turned towards Anakin triumphantly, smirking at her instructor in a challenging manner.

"My squadron alone had fifty-five kills," she gloated.

"Yeah," Anakin said, grinning. "But _mine _had seventy-six." Ahsoka rolled her eyes affectionately, muttering _show-off _under her breath as she turned away. Veers smiled slightly, a pang in her chest as she was reminded of her similar banter that she'd shared with Rizak.

She and Obi-Wan got along well, but they didn't have the same comfortable, easy relationship she'd had with Rizak. Sometimes she feared that they never would.

Obi-Wan huffed a laugh, bemused by Anakin and Ahsoka's game.

"Well, I'm glad you two are enjoying yourselves," he said, sounding torn between being stern and being amused. Anakin shrugged.

"It's just a little friendly competition, Master," Anakin replied.

"What I worry about is the way this war is drawing on with no end in sight," Obi-Wan replied, shaking his head and looking again at Geonosis with concern. Veers understood his worry; it must be disconcerting to be fighting on the same planet that had started the wars, after all. Master Mundi nodded his head in grave agreement.

"Yes," he said. "Which is why it is crucial that our invasion of Geonosis meets with success." Anakin nodded.

"Agreed." He glanced at his Padawan. "Ahsoka, contact the Outer Rim command. Tell them we're ready for our briefing." The Togruta female nodded.

"They're already waiting for us," she announced. Master Mundi nodded, leading the way towards the center of the bridge where the control panel was. Once there, Mundi pressed the button to start the transmission. The hologram flickered, and then connected them to the other Jedi.

"Masters," Obi-Wan dipped his head in greeting to Master Luminara, Master Windu, Master Yoda. "Chancellor Palpatine. Our ships are in position and we are ready to begin our campaign against the Geonosians."

_"And what about Poggle?" _Master Windu asked. _"Any report on his location?" _

"It seems he's holed up at the primary droid foundry here," Obi-Wan said, pulling up a holographic map and indicating the spot where Poggle was hiding. "The factory is protected by a shield generator. Anakin, Ka Adi and I shall attempt a three-pronged attack through their defense lines to a staging area just short of the shield. Once we have landed, we will knock out the shield generator. That is our primary target."

Chancellor Palpatine frowned, rubbing his chin.

"_Isn't it risky committing three generals to one area of the attack?" _The Chancellor asked in concern. "_If something went wrong, we could be dealt a serious blow." _

"_To ensure that rise again, Geonosis does not," _Master Yoda replied gravely. _"Capture Poggle, we must."_

_"Of course," _the Chancellor said. "_As always, I shall leave the strategy to you, Master Jedi." _

"Our thanks, Chancellor," Obi-Wan replied politely. Master Windu nodded once, looking at the Jedi around him. His eyes were serious - he knew that this was a dangerous mission, but a necessary one.

_"May the Force be with you," _he said. The transmission flickered off, and the door to the mission room slid open. Rex, Jet, and Cody walked in, stopping in front of the Jedi to await instructions. Obi-Wan looked down at the map, indicating a point on it.

"Good," he said. "Cody, these are the coordinates for the rendezvous." Cody nodded.

"Yes sir," he said. "When we hit the ground we'll create a perimeter there." He pointed to a spot on the map. "Getting past their defenses here will be the trick. General Mundi will come across the defensive lines from the north. We will make our assault through the middle, and General Skywalker will make his attack on the defensive lines from the south. We will meet at the rendezvous point at 0700 exactly."

_Way easier said than done, _Veers thought wryly to herself.

"If we are met with strong resistance and are forced down away from the landing zone," Mundi said. "Hold out until we join our forces before attacking the shield generator." Ahsoka looked at the map worriedly, studying the terrain.

"Their front lines are heavily fortified," she said nervously. "Look at that giant wall with the gun emplacements. That _won't _be easy to get past."

"Don't worry!" Anakin said confidently, waving off his Padawan's concerns. "We're not going anywhere near that."

"Come now," Obi-Wan said. "What happened to all that _enthusiasm _I saw earlier?" Anakin grinned at his former instructor, throwing his forearm onto Obi-Wan's shoulder and leaning against the older man comfortably.

"Don't worry about us. You just get to the landing zone in one piece." Anakin glanced at Veers, grinning. "Veers, you'll make sure to keep an eye on the old man, won't you?" Veers grinned slightly. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

"Yes, well, this old man shall be waiting for you when you _finally _arrive."

"_Ahem." _Master Luminara cleared her throat. She and her forces were waiting for the three generals to destroy the generator before joining them on the ground. "_Gentlemen, if you are quite finished, we have a battle to begin."_

"Quite right," Obi-Wan responded, snapping back into his business like state. "Cody, prepare the gunships. Veers and I will meet you in the hangar." Veers followed Obi-Wan out of the briefing room, nudging Ahsoka and whispering a quiet _good luck _to her friend as she passed her. "Veers, are you ready?"

"Yes, Master," Veers replied, quickening her step to match pace with Obi-Wan. "What's our plan of attack?"

"Oh?" Obi-Wan cocked an eyebrow at Veers. "You, asking about a plan? Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming." Veers huffed out a laugh.

"Yes, well, I'm turning over a new leaf," she said teasingly. "Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to guess?" Obi-Wan chuckled.

"You and I will be in separate gunships, just in case," he told her. Even as he said it, he felt doubtful. Veers had been distracted lately, and though she'd been more focused in recent days, he was still concerned about her ability to conduct herself in a battle. But he had to trust that she would adapt - the plan needed her too.

Veers's eyes widened slightly - she hadn't expected that. Biting back her remark, she forced herself to continue listening to Obi-Wan instead of interrupting him to comment. "You'll go with Cody, and we'll meet at the landing point." Obi-Wan and Veers had made it to the hangar now, and they paused, waiting for Cody to alert them that the ships were ready. Veers paused at the entry to the hangar, and Obi-Wan stopped next to her.

"Master, we're splitting up?"

"Yes." Obi-Wan glanced at his Padawan. The concern on her face didn't assuage his worries, but he did his best to shake them off. "It's strategy, Veers. Don't overthink it. Everything will be fine." Veers frowned, thinking about his cryptic words "_j__ust in case." _Still, she shook that thought off and then nodded.

"Yes, Master." Unable to help herself, Veers smiled, her pointed teeth gleaming in the half light. "And I suppose if it doesn't, Anakin will have to come save you again, isn't that right?" Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes at his apprentice, and she giggled at his affronted expression. Cody came up to the pair.

"Sir, the gunships are prepared. Is everything alright?"

"Just fine, Cody," Obi-Wan replied. "Veers here as simply been listening to too many of General Skywalker's tales." Veers giggled again. Obi-Wan glanced at Cody. "Where you at the first battle here on Geonosis?"

"No, sir," Cody replied as the three began to walk towards the gunships. "I wasn't involved in the first assault on Geonosis."

"Well, you didn't miss much," Obi-Wan replied dryly. "Last time I was chained to a pole and attacked my several humongous monsters. And then, if you'll listen to Anakin's version of events, he was the savior in the story. What he often neglects to mention is how _he _got there too."

"That sounds...entertaining," Cody offered. He and Veers paused outside the first gunship and Obi-Wan got in. He smiled.

"It was," the Jedi Master replied, arching an eyebrow. "For the Geonosians." Veers smiled.

"Hopefully we'll have better luck this time, Master," she said. "May the Force be with you." Obi-Wan nodded at his apprentice, and the doors of the gunship snapped shut. Veers hesitated for a moment, feeling the air whoosh around her as the gunship lifted off the ground. Cody nodded at the Jedi.

"Let's go."

Veers and Cody boarded another gunship, and the Padawan grabbed onto a strap to keep her balance as the ship took off. She could tell already that it was going to be a rocky ride down to the surface. The Geonosians had high-powered energy cannons that could reach high altitudes, strong enough to knock a gunship of the sky with one hit.

The pilot weaved in and out of fire, attempting to stay out of the way of the shots. The gunmen in each of the pods attached the gunship did their best to return fire, but with all the bobbing and weaving, it was no doubt difficult.

_"We're down!" _a voice called through the radio. "_I repeat, we're down. Location five - " _the transmission cut off, and Veers looked at Cody in concern.

"That was Rex," he confirmed. "Skywalker's team must have gone down, we've lost contact." Veers let out a huff of breath, her _ira _marks flaring in concern. Before she could say anything, Cody's radio crackled again. This time it was Jet, from Mundi's team.

_"Cody, get the tanks down! Come in, Cody!"_

"Copy that," Cody said. "Pilot, begin landing sequence!"

"Copy that, Commander!" The pilot called back. "Have fun down there!" The gunship lowered to the ground, behind the tanks. The large AT-TEs offered the squadron limited cover as they disembarked from the gunship. Immediately, the Geonosians began returning fire. Veers cursed, drawing her lightsabers.

"Cody, tell Obi-Wan not to land!" she shouted. She barely acknowledged his shout of "yes, sir" before she was diving to the right to avoid being hit by a blast. Veers rolled through the dirt, sheathing her lightsabers to avoid slicing herself. She heard shouts of "man down" behind her, and risked a glance over her shoulder to ensure that the clone was being taken care of.

"Commander!" Cody rushed to her side. "General Kenobi's ship got shot down. We've lost contact."

"_What__?" _Veers gasped, skidding to a halt. There was another loud boom, and the energy blast hit the ground right in front of the pair, showering them with dirt and small rocks. Veers coughed. She could practically hear Obi-Wan's voice in her head. _Focus, Veers. Don't let your emotions rule you. _Veers took a deep breath. "Keep trying to get contact with him," she ordered briskly. "We have to hold our ground."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Veers and the troopers managed to hold their position, using the AT-TEs and broken gunships, as well as supplies they'd brought with them, to set up a small barricade. It offered only a little protection from the heavy fire, but it was better than nothing.

"Commander!" Veers glanced down from where she was perched on top of the AT-TE. "Commander Cody's found the General's ship."

Veers sheathed her lightsabers and leapt off the top of the AT-TE, landing on the ground in a neat crouch. She followed the trooper to Cody's side, where he passed her a pair of binoculars. Veers held them to her eyes, aiming them over the horizon. She sucked in a short breath as she took in the wreckage of the crash.

"That's bad damage," she murmured, lowering the binoculars. Cody nodded.

"I've sent for Waxer and Boil. They'll retrieve any survivors." Veers nodded. A beat passed and Cody cleared his throat. "Are - are there any, sir? Survivors?" Veers frowned, looking again at the ship.

She'd been trying her best to avoid tapping too far into the Force, but it was growing harder and harder. After her incident at Bane's outpost, she'd returned to the library on Coruscant and researched how to sever a Force bond. The results she'd found were confusing.

Force bonds didn't just _happen, _they had to be manufactured. She wasn't powerful enough to do so, and neither was Tayo. So she had no idea who had created it, and why they had.

But she had been able to find ways to refocus her senses. Now, she didn't see Tayo every time she tapped into the Force, only when she dreamed. But she could still feel him - his anger and frustration, his _fear, _like an uncomfortable buzz over her entire body.

"Commander?" Cody pressed, and Veers realized she'd been silent for too long.

"I think so," she responded, finally. "If Obi-Wan was - " she couldn't finish the sentence, she couldn't fathom the thought of losing someone else. "I think I'd know."

"Boil reporting as ordered, sir!" Another voice called as the clone ran up next to the two commanders. He was quickly followed by another.

"Waxer reporting as ordered, sir!"

"We've got a down gunship six klicks east," Cody said, turning towards the two troopers. Veers looked through the binoculars again, trying to see any movement behind the ship. "We believe it's General Kenobi's. We need you to get out there and check for survivors."

"Sir, yes sir!" The clones saluted Cody, leaving the relative safety of their makeshift base to run across empty land to the gunship. Veers handed the binoculars back to Cody.

"Tell me when they get back," she requested. As much as she wanted to go follow the clones and ensure Obi-Wan's safety herself, she knew he would disapprove of her abandoning the troops. Cody nodded, and Veers returned to the front lines. As she walked towards the AT-TE, she called to the gunman.

"Trooper! Lay down cover fire towards the east, at .35, we have two men scouting for survivors." The gunman saluted her to acknowledge the order, swiveling around to adjust his shot. Veers looked over horizon at the shield, squinting at it. She could see the bugs still pressing forwards despite their attempt to hold them off. Again, her hands itched for action - she wanted to be out there, fighting, not back here leading the charge.

Veers's radio buzzed, and she pressed down on the button. "Veers."

_"Commander, it's Cody," _the Clone Commander said. "_They've got the general." _Veers closed her eyes, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Copy that," she replied, her voice wavering slightly. She turned around, grabbing the nearest medic and beckoning him to follow her. Veers reached the edge of the Square at the same time that Waxer and Boil helped Obi-Wan and another trooper into the base.

"Are you injured, General?" Cody was asking as Boil lowered him down onto the ground.

"No, nothing too serious," Obi-Wan responded, despite the obvious pain on his face. Veers ran up beside Obi-Wan, and dropped to her knees besides her instructor. The medic knelt on his other side, carefully examining the other man for injuries.

"Master," she breathed, her _ira _marks flickering to show her relief. She offered him a small smile. "I'm glad to see you in one piece."

"I'm glad to see you still _here_," Obi-Wan replied in amusement. "I'm surprised you didn't dash off on my rescue mission yourself." Veers laughed.

"Yes, well, at the expense of Master Skywalker's disappointment of my failing to 'keep an eye on you,' I suppose some of your lessons did make their way through my thick skull." Obi-Wan chuckled, but he sounded exhausted. He tipped his head to the side as the clone injected a syringe into his neck - a painkiller and an upper to keep him comfortable and as alert as possible.

"What's the situation?" He asked Veers.

"We're surrounded," she admitted. "Master Skywalker and Mundi are on the ground, but they're beyond our positions. Anakin's tanks are gone - he called for backup, but we can barely move an inch. We need air cover." Obi-Wan looked at his Padawan in a mixture of surprise and pride. He was impressed with how Veers had handled the situation - she'd been so distracted and almost disoriented lately that he'd worried about her, nearly regretting his decision to split up with her.

But now he knew he'd made the right choice, after all.

"The enemy was more than prepared for our attack, sir," Cody continued.

"Well, I'm sure General Skywalker and General Mundi will make it to our position. We just have to make sure we're still here when they arrive."

"You rest, Master," Veers said, putting her hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder when he tried to get up. "I'll let you know if we need help, but I can handle things." Obi-Wan allowed his Padawan to settle him against the ground again, and he looked at her again.

Despite how calm she was outwardly, her _ira _marks were rather bright. Obi-Wan remembered the way they'd flickered when he'd told her they were going to split up, and he wondered if that had worried her.

Sometimes he forgot that there'd been a time when Veers hadn't been his apprentice, that she'd had another instructor before hand. One who'd died right in front of her. No doubt that had taken a toll on her - no doubt she was worried of losing another teacher.

"Thank you, Veers," Obi-Wan said simply, despite the revelation he'd just had. She moved to rise, but before she could go, he touched her shoulder. She looked at him, and he smiled at her again. "Well done, young one."

* * *

Despite Veers's confidence, the situation wasn't going well.

Luckily, it wasn't her fault. Unluckily, there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

Communications were still jammed - she couldn't reached Anakin and Ahsoka, or Master Mundi. Even communicating with the Resolute was a challenge. With no reinforcements in sight, the battle was looking grim as the Geonosians continued to close in on them.

Veers leapt from the top of the AT-TE, landing on what of the bug's speeders. She tossed the Geonosian from the seat, throwing it to the ground before turning the speeder around and redirecting it towards one of the droid tanks. She accelerated it as fast as it would go, before leaping free of the seat and landing back in the dirt.

The speeder collided with the tank, and both exploded. Veers held a hand over her face to shield herself from debris, but there was nothing she could do about the dirt sticking to her skin. She was literally covered from head to toe.

As the smoke cleared slightly, her heart dropped into her stomach as she saw another wave of droids and Geonosians marching towards them. It seemed that their resources were never-ending, while Veers's were quickly depleting.

Gunfire shook the earth around Veers, and she grit her teeth, deflecting blast after blast with her lightsabers. The green and blue blades glowed through the swirling dirt and smoke.

"This is useless," Veers muttered to herself, wincing again as another bomb hit a gunship. She saw several troopers fall, and she swallowed hard, calling an order. "Pull back!" she shouted, slashing her blades through the air to deflect gunfire as she walked backwards. "Fall back, now!"

The clones and Veers at the front lines had pulled back almost within the Square when a triumphant shout rang out.

"Reinforcements! The reinforcements have arrived!"

Relief made Veers weak, and she fought the urge to collapse into the dirt and scream in joy. Instead, she held position for another moment longer as the squadron of fighters swooped down low over the horizon, targeting enemy craft. Veers let out a shaky breath and then smiled.

"Come on!" she shouted, waving her hand forward. "Let's move!"

She led the troopers forward, the cover fire giving them renewed vigor as well as an edge over their opponents. With just a little more effort, they managed to push the enemy back into a strategic retreat. They hadn't won, not yet, but they'd bought themselves some time. As the enemies began to flee, Veers dropped to the ground in exhaustion, breathing heavily. She was tired, no doubt about it - she couldn't remember the last time she'd exerted herself this much.

"Sir, you alright?" A trooper asked, offering Veers his hand. She nodded, allowing the clone to pull her to her feet.

"Fine, thanks," she said. "Good work. Let's regroup with the others." She pressed a button on her comm. as the squadron begin to trek back to the Square.

"Commander?" she said, contacting the leader of the aerial squadron. "This is Jedi Commander Veers of the 212th. We're pulling back to regroup with the others, what's your plan?"

_"Copy that, Commander," _the trooper replied promptly. "_We're pulling back to remain out of sight. We'll be here if you need us, sir." _

"Copy. Thank you, Commander." Once Veers reached the Square, she headed over to Obi-Wan. Anakin, Ahsoka, and Mundi had all made it there, and Obi-Wan was briefing them on the plan once more. When he spotted his Padawan, he nodded, a look of relief crossing his face.

"There you are. I was starting to think something had happened to you." He spoke lightly but truthfully.

"Sorry, Master," Veers responded. "I contacted the fighters. They're here at our disposal, Master."

"Good." Obi-Wan turned back to the holographic map in front of him. "As I was saying, our combined forces should be enough to destroy the shield generator." Despite Obi-Wan's refusal to acknowledge the gravity of his injuries, Veers could tell he was more hurt than he let on. His breathing was slightly labored, and he spoke tightly. And of course, the fact that he was sitting on the ground still was quite telling.

"Anakin, you'll need to take a small squad through the shield, as close as you can get to their gun emplacements. Veers can go with you." The Padawan nodded, relieved that Obi-Wan wasn't attempting to insert himself into the plan. "From there," Obi-Wan continued, "You'll be able to temporarily jam their scanners so they are unable to target the incoming tanks. Once the tanks knock out the shield, Master Mundi can bring the rest of the troops in with the gunships."

"Consider it done, Master," Anakin replied confidently. He nodded at Veers. "Ready?" She nodded, putting a hand on the hilt of one of her lightsabers.

"Ready."

"Good. You and Ahsoka will take the east, I'll lead another troop from the west. We'll meet as close to the guns as we can." Veers nodded, following Ahsoka and Captain Rex to the point that Anakin had indicated. It was clear they'd hashed out the details of the plan without her, but she didn't mind. It was easy enough to just go with the flow.

"Kid," Captain Rex nodded at Ahsoka. "We're ready." Veers couldn't help but smile slightly at how different Rex was from Cody. When she'd just been a youngling, another Padawan-to-be had told her that all clones had the same personality. He couldn't have been more wrong - where Cody was rule-abiding and traditional, Rex was relaxed and informal.

"Let's move." Veers followed Ahsoka and the troopers through the shield and over the ridge, deflecting off blasts with her lightsabers as she ran. It didn't take long for them to meet with Anakin in the middle. He led the two Padawans up the hill.

"There!" Anakin called, motioning to some large rocks just below where the Genosians were shooting from. They adjusted their course, racing for the rocks that would offer them some cover against the heavy fire.

Veers dropped down next to Ahsoka, sheathing her lightsabers and replacing them at her waist.

"Droid poppers," Anakin said, passing two to Veers. "Let's jam their scanners!"

Each Jedi threw their poppers over the boulder at one of the large canons. As the small scramblers rolled to a halt beneath the machines, they sent an electric shot up the canons - not strong enough to hurt the Genosians sitting in them, but strong enough to temporarily shut down the canons' operating systems. Veers could hear them exclaiming in shock and confusion as their machines broke down right before their eyes.

"It looks like it's working!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

"It won't last for long," Anakin warned. He turned on his comm. to contact Mundi. "Bring up the tanks!"

Veers watched as the AT-TEs drew closer, her blood pumping victoriously as they shot several direct blasts at the tower. It collapsed, the red shield that encapsulated the area disappearing along with the tower. They'd done it.

A small fleet of gunships landed around them, and Mundi and several more troopers poured out of it, joining Ahsoka, Anakin and Veers as they surrounded the remaining Geonosians. The bugs clattered nervously, realizing that they were outnumbered and surrounded.

Veers grinned triumphantly as they dropped their weapons, surrendering to the squadron. They'd done it.

* * *

When Veers returned to the Square she was alarmed to see that Obi-Wan looked worse than before. His eyes were closed when she approached him, but his face was too tense with pain for him to be resting.

"Master." Veers knelt beside him, touching his arm gently. He opened his eyes, looking at his Padawan.

"Veers," he greeted her with a smile. "How did it go?"

"It went well," she responded. "Master, I've contacted Admiral Yularen and reported to him. You and Master Mundi will report to the Resolute for medical attention." Veers spoke hesitantly. She wasn't ashamed that she'd gone over Obi-Wan's head to ensure he was treated properly, but she wasn't sure how he'd react to this.

"Oh?" Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow. "Aren't I supposed to be looking out for you?"

"Oh," Veers said in mock-surprise. "And here I was thinking we were a team. But, you know, in _that _case," Veers grinned at him. "I'll go instead. You can stay down here, in the war-torn dusty hellhole and I'll go up to the Resolute where it's nice and clean and cool, with medical supplies and food and - "

"Alright, alright," Obi-Wan laughed, wincing slightly. "You've made your point, Veers. You did well today, young one." Veers smiled at the praise. Obi-Wan paused, and then added gently. "You've been distracted recently. You stepped up today, but you've been worrying me."

"Yes, Master." Veers winced, looking across the horizon. "I - it's nothing, Master. I hadn't been sleeping well, that's all." Obi-Wan eyed his Padawan, unconvinced. But her mouth was set in a stubborn line now, and he had a feeling he wasn't going to get anything more out of her. He sighed.

"If that's all..." he trailed off, giving her one last chance to tell him what was going on. Veers nodded her head, her eyes locked on the horizon distractedly.

"That's all." Approaching footsteps made both Jedi look up, and Obi-Wan didn't think he was mistaken in recognizing relief on Veers's face. Anakin was approaching the two.

"Master," Anakin nodded at Obi-Wan, kneeling down to help him to his feet. "The gunship is here." Obi-Wan allowed Anakin to take some of his weight, his former Padawan helping him walk to the gunship as Veers followed closely behind. Veers could see the slight concern on Anakin's face as well - she was guessing that Anakin knew Obi-Wan even better than her and knew that this was out of character for him as well.

Ahsoka spotted the three Jedi and ran to meet them. "So, Master," she said to Anakin challengingly. "What was your total?"

Anakin sighed, shaking his head at Ahsoka in a slightly disapproving manner. "Not now, Ahsoka," he replied, focused on helping Obi-Wan to the gunship where Mundi was waiting.

"Come on," Ahsoka wheedled as she walked along side Anakin. "Are you afraid you lost this time?" she taunted. Veers grinned, ducking her head, and Obi-Wan shook his head affectionately as Anakin, unsurprisingly, rose to the challenge.

"Fine. Fifty-five. That's my count. And you?" Ahsoka paused, a satisfied smirk crossing her face.

"Sixty," she replied triumphantly. "Looks like _I _won." Veers giggled at the look of surprise that crossed Anakin's face.

"Yeah," he said. "But - I called in the airstrike. _Tie." _Ahsoka laughed, shaking her head in an exasperated manner.

"You're impossible," she informed her instructor, crossing her arms over her chest as she grinned. Obi-Wan sighed slightly, looking at Anakin with a mixture of disapproval and confusion.

"I'll never understand how you can simplify these battles to into some kind of game." Anakin chuckled, carefully transferring Obi-Wan to Mundi.

"Well, take care of yourselves," Anakin said. "I expect to see both of you back here by the time I've destroyed the main factory." He rested a hand on Veers's shoulder. "And I'll watch out for your Padawan, Master."

"We shall do our best," Obi-Wan said wryly. "And so shall you, Anakin. Veers may be more reckless than you are."

"Well, that won't do," Anakin said, frowning in mock annoyance as he surveyed Veers. "Can't have someone stealing my crown now, can I?" Veers laughed and Obi-Wan groaned, shaking his head at his two apprentices in disbelief. He focused on Veers sternly.

"Veers, I trust that you'll listen to Anakin better than you listen to me," Obi-Wan said. The Padawan grinned sheepishly.

"Yes, Master." Mundi looked at Anakin, smiling slightly.

"Sixty-five, Skywalker," he announced. Anakin blinked, taken aback, and Veers's mouth dropped open.

"Um...sorry?" Anakin asked, sounding confused. Mundi grinned.

"Sixty-five is my total," he clarified, looking slightly mischievous. "So what do I win?"

Anakin blinked again, his mouth dropping open in surprise. He looked at Obi-Wan, who simply looked bemused, and then back at Mundi.

"My everlasting respect, Master Mundi," Anakin replied with a slight laugh as he dipped his head. Master Mundi tilted his head to the side, looking slightly disappointed.

"Oh." Obi-Wan laughed.

"That is a gift Anakin rarely bestows, I assure you." Anakin smiled, and he and Veers stepped back as the doors to the gunship slid closed. The craft took off into the air, and Veers watched it go, half-expecting it to be blown out of the sky again. She watched the ship until it disappeared from view, and then glanced back at Anakin.

"Thank you for helping me," she said. She'd gone to Anakin with her concerns that Obi-Wan shouldn't be on the battlefield, and he'd urged her to make contact with Yularen, backing her up on the state of Obi-Wan's condition.

"No problem." Anakin smiled at her easily. "I'm glad you're looking out for him. Obi-Wan won't admit it, but he's just as stubborn as you or me." Veers laughed, and Anakin chuckled too. "I guess he has my everlasting respect too," Anakin said flippantly, as he and Veers walked over to where Rex and Ahsoka were. Veers nodded, seriously.

"Mine too," she replied quietly.

"Good," Anakin said. He glanced at Veers. "I can tell that you have his." Veers glanced at Anakin, startled. She wondered if he could tell that she still felt the need to prove herself to Obi-Wan, still felt concerned that he didn't trust her or didn't feel comfortable with her or was going to give up on her if she made a mistake, proving herself to be the problem that the Jedi Council had always considered her. Anakin nodded, as though he'd heard her question. "If he's hard on you, it's because he can see your potential," Anakin replied. "But I know he trusts you to make the right decisions."

Veers let out a slow sigh, the affirmation meaning more to her than she cared to admit. She studied the ground, her lips tugging up at the corners.

"Thank you."

* * *

**alright here we are! please let me know waht you think of this chapter! i really appreciate reading your reviews, it really means a lot to me (even just a word or two!) so i'd love to hear your ****thoughts! **

**thanks so much!**


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